The Walls Of Jericho
by Joel182
Summary: People don't like Chris Jericho. He doesn't like people either. Can Evan change that? A romantic fan fiction about doing the impossible - breaking down the walls of Chris Jericho. SLASH warning!
1. Chapter 1

**THIS ENTIRE STORY IS PURE FAN FICTION. IT IS SLASH AND PURELY CREATED BY MY IMAGINATION. I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE NAMES USED IN THIS STORY! NAMES ARE OWNED BY WWE! ALL I OWN IS THIS PLOT. ENJOY  
**

People don't touch Chris Jericho. In fact, everyone made it a blatant point to go as far as doing the impossible – not breathing the same air as Chris Jericho. It wasn't anything personal – except for the few people who held deep hatred for the man – and Chris himself had never actually made it known that he wanted people to avoid him like the plague. However, despite that, what made everyone wary was that Chris harbored something dark and uncomfortably uncertain and it emitted a sort of stay-the-fuck-away aura. And people did exactly that – they stayed the fuck away. Whenever Chris appeared in the hallways, the crowd would immediately part like the Red Sea, silence themselves, and only dare to breathe once he was out of sight. Making eye contact with Chris – unless it was scripted – was something only a handful dared to do.

People were afraid of Chris Jericho and they didn't even know why.

While his presence made people's skin crawl, Chris didn't mind the solitary lifestyle. He was comfortable, and content. He rather enjoyed his company rather than the company of those unnecessary cretins.

Raw went off the air signaling the start of a well needed break for the WWE employees. Despite being on SmackDown, Chris Jericho was present at Raw just because he could be. Chris strutted out of his locker room – that despite being a public locker room, had only become his because no one else came in when he was inside – his expression deadpan as he walked down the emptying hallways. His gym bag was slung over his left shoulder, and it was noticeably heavy. The people in the hallway quickly looked into random directions, and pasted themselves on the walls bordering the tiled hallway floor.

Chris scoffed lightly. //Enough already! Next time just crawl back into the holes you came from instead of making such a scene!// He pressed on quietly fuming with anger and disgust.

A shoulder – that was not his – bumped into his left arm. The loud thud of the gym bag, and a few soft gasps were the sounds that trailed in afterward. Chris's sky blue eyes lit ablaze with fury he didn't know he had. Someone had touched him.

Someone had touched Chris Jericho.

"I-I'm so sorry."

He narrowed his eyes and looked down to be greeted by a pair of big, dark brown eyes, a small figure, and a too-cute-for-words hurt puppy look. It was all he could do not to blush at the angelic sight that his eyes beheld. //Who is this?!// He racked his memory only to come up blank. The smaller man, clad in a pair of dark jeans and a T-Shirt that was a size too small with a pair of sneakers to finish the look, beamed a gentle smile at the older man. He knelt down and picked up the fallen gym bag – struggling somewhat with the overwhelming weight. When he finally stood he held out the bag ahead of Jericho – who was still lost somewhere no one could ever follow – all the while smiling without a care in the world. Jericho blinked, took a deep breath, and blinked again. The smaller man rested the bag on Jericho's shoulder. His fingers brushing over the exposed flesh covering Jericho's neck. //T-Twice?! He touched me twice!// Jericho quickly composed himself after a sudden backward movement. His thoughts centered.

His tone dipped into venom, "Who are you?"

The smaller man's smile twitched a bit and slowly chipped away. Chris's overbearing aura was crushing him. "I-I'm Evan Bourne! Nice to meet you!"

Before Jericho could retaliate to the loud response, Evan had already clasped his hands over his lips, widened his eyes in terror and began to slowly back away from the situation.

//What is with this kid?// Jericho stepped forward. Evan scooted further away. "Hey -"

"I'm so sorry!"

And with that Evan ran off. Jericho, along with the surrounding crowd, all gaped at Evan until he was out of sight. //What was that all about?!// Jericho snapped his mentality back to the present and turned to resume his exit. The crowd – that had gathered to take a gander at what was going on – dispersed once again to give Jericho, his massive ego, and that humongous dark aura enough space to leave the building. Chris heard a few hisses and snarls. They all sounded like animals surrounding a prey they could never hope to reach, or more like a bunch of politicians who bickered behind the backs of those they chose to greedily support.

Chris entered his car. No one was around because everyone chose to park furthest away from him and either left before or after he did. The car started. //It's all the same//, Chris noted as he turned right, //people did whatever benefited them. It could range from helping an old lady cross the street to sleeping with the enemy.// The latter applied to him. Experience had taught Chris to never trust a human being. They were all corrupted, living rotting corpses. They didn't have a heart, and they were all in humane. And ugly. Very, very ugly.

***

_His face was flushed. His eyes were wide. //This isn't real// Tea greens met his baby blues with a gentle gaze that had an under lining pulse of covetousness threading through them. //This isn't real// He tried to grasp the current situation. He wanted to speak, but for some reason his tongue was unable to do so. _

"_I'll see you later tonight." A pair of keys landed in his hands, "This is a spare for my room. I always carry it in case the original gets lost." Hot lips traced the outline of his ear making his face burn hotter and his body shudder with pleasure and want. "Room 506. I'll be waiting Chris" _

_That low gravel voice purred his name with a lust filled tongue. It was all Chris could do not to collapse right then and there. As the sound of the door shutting finally reached his ears, Chris's knees gave way. Fairy tales never happened for him. He knew that. He came expecting nothing, but instead... He looked down at the keys and clutched them tightly to his chest. //I'll be there.//_

***

The sound of a loud knocking brought him back to reality. He rose slowly – quite surprised to find himself in his bed – and stepped towards the door. He stopped on the way once his weary eyes caught a glimpse of his reflection. His skin was aged. It didn't have the shine it once did. Although for his age he was fitter than most guys a decade (or more) his junior, and he was aging quite well as he didn't really look his age, Chris couldn't help but let out a sad sigh. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. //I need to stop having these stupid dreams.// The knocking got louder and more impatient. Chris hissed under his breath and quickly swung open the door – rage blazing ahead in full colors.

"Can't a guy get some sleep -" He stopped, composed and leaned casually on the door frame, "What do you want Jack?"

Jack Swagger. Aside from personally, Chris had never known the kid on a business level, and had only really exchanged one word with him. He was asking about something at the time – much to shock of everyone else – and Chris simply told him to leave. The kid obeyed like the good boy he was and left. Never in any dream Chris could possibly have did he think he would be in this situation. Jack Swagger at his door at four in the morning (Chris had checked the radio clock at his bedside briefly before answering the door).

"Chris, we need to talk." Swagger's tone was nervous.

Chris smirked deviously, "About?"

"Well..." Swagger looked away a bit and then inhaled enough air to last the human race a couple more years before letting it out slowly, "I can't do this anymore."

"I thought so." Chris gently rubbed the side of his neck, and looked at the carpet below before flicking his eyes back at Swagger. "You're on Raw now. You got what you wanted. Good for you." He moved to shut the door. "Good night."

Swagger planted his foot between the door and the frame. Chris looked at him with knitted brows. "Chris, don't -"

Chris's tone was fatally cold, "Don't call my name. You don't know me, and I sure as hell don't recall you. Good night Swagger."

Jack's pleading expression contorted with anger, "Will you at least hear me out?!"

Jericho raked the boy over with bored eyes, "I don't see duct tape over your mouth, and this is a free country."

"You -!"Jack audibly ground his teeth as he tried to rein in his anger, "I...just....I just wanted you to know that I didn't use you. I was just in love with someone else. I loved you too, but it wasn't as strong." Jack sighed defeated, "I, I'm sorry. I just wanted you to know that. And I also want you to know that I will always be your friend, and I hope you can forgive me."

Chris stared at him. "Is that all?"

Jack shot him a look of utter dismay.

"In that case, I forgive you for whatever it is you feel so guilty about. Now, get your foot out of the doorway before you lose it. Vince has no need for cripples. And you wouldn't want all your hard work going down the drain now would you?"

Jack's chest puffed up with hot air as he glared daggers at Chris's nonchalant expression. "You think you're better than me or something?! You think I slept with you to get to the top?! I didn't! I got to the where I am because of my own strength!"

"Yeah. Your strength in bed." Chris's eyes darkened, "Now leave."

The door slammed on a protesting Jack Swagger. //Stupid kid getting me awake for no reason at all!// Chris slumped back into his comfortable sleeping position – lying on his back on one side of the bed. It was a habit Chris developed, unsure of exactly when he developed it. However, the reason was all too clear. From the way his hands laid on his chest and stomach he looked like a vampire resting in a coffin. His muscles tensed as he tried to break the stupid hold, but soon feel asleep in that position – a position to protect his self.

***-*-*-***

SmackDown ended with Jericho doing nothing of major importance. To him anyways. The IC Title was at least a few miles beneath someone of his caliber, and fighting with Dave's Latino lover – Rey – was proving to be the straw that would break the camels' back. Dave hated Chris. Scratch that. Dave loathed Chris. He loathed Chris so much that he'd probably sell his soul just to ensure that Chris's eternal life was forever laced with torment. Chris held no grudge towards the leviathan. Yes he was intimidating, utterly large, and very skilled, but he was the one guy he could think of who never had a prime even after being placed under the guiding wings of the legendary Nature Boy and The Game himself. The guy had it made and somehow Orton was the talk of the town.

Chris walked off screen after his match with Rey. The little firecracker had dealt him a couple of hard blows that were meant to hurt more than to entertain. //I'll need at least two hours soaking to get the ol' muscles moving again// He chuckled lightly to himself as he registered his use of "ol'" to describe parts of his body. You know you're old when you start calling yourself that. He reached the locker room – not surprised to find it empty –but hadn't even sat down properly before the door flew open, banging loudly as it hit the wall behind. Chris looked up with shock at the large man standing in the doorway, breathing loudly, and puffing steam.

"You son of a bitch!"

Jericho sighed inwardly. He knew where this was going – and it wasn't a place he would enjoy. "Dave, I'm not even going to try to pacify you, but-"

"Shut up!" Dave stomped over to Jericho, wrapping his large hand around the blond's neck and squeezing with all his might. "Why are you so hell bent on humiliating him?! What has Rey ever done to you?!"

Jericho coughed a bit, before glaring into Dave's smoldering ebony eyes. Being this close to Dave was fearsome indeed. Being choked by Dave was downright scary. "It's our job Dave! If you don't like it, then you're free to leave!"

Dave clenched his teeth and clutch. Jericho squirmed as he felt the trickle of oxygen slip through his veins. "You didn't have to go for his mask! That was downright dirty! And the way you just beat up on him after that was sick! You're a sick fuck Jericho! And I think I've had enough of you messing with Rey!"

Jericho clawed at Dave's large hand as it threatened to break his windpipe. //I'm gonna die! I don't believe this! A leviathan not fit to be the same species as me is going to kill me!//

A voice called into the room. It belonged to neither man.

"Let go Batista! Let go!"

Jericho opened his eyes, but couldn't even get a glimpse of who it was. His vision blurred and then vanished. All he could recall was the feel of warm hands cradling his head to a softly beating heart. It had been too many years, than Jericho cared to admit, that he had been offered some sort of comfort. A whiff of a random flowery scent, mixed with a hint of masculine husk caught his nose almost immediately. //What... is...this?// He tried to open his eyes, but nothing showed. When he closed them again, a familiar grin, and wicked eyes fell right into his line of sight. //No! No!// Jericho tried to move away from the oncoming figure, but his body wouldn't listen. He stared frantically at the slowly approaching figure. That tanned aged skin, those chestnut blond locks that swagger in his step, that low growl, and those intense eyes. Chris felt himself being drawn to it all. He wanted it. A pair of hands came out of the darkness and pinned Chris down. // Wait! No wait! Stop!// Chris tried to move again only to be betrayed once more by his unresponsive body.

"Chris"

//Let go you bastard!// Chris fought, and struggled, but the hands stayed pinning him down. //Let go! Stop it!// His body began to move, slowly at first and then rapidly as if sped up. He thrashed about only to gain a hard, sharp shout that rang deep into his ears.

"Chris!"

Awoken by the sudden shout, Chris opened his eyes to see a sad face looking at him. There was a light shining above the younger man. It made him look just like an angel. A small smile cracked Chris's hard face that was now dripping with sweat. //What the hell?// Chris slowly looked about. His smile dropping. //This is a...a...hospital?!// He looked up at the man above him. //I know this face.//

"Are you alright Chris?" Brown eyes caved with worry, and his tone sounded distressed. "Are you hurt?"

//I'm in a hospital.// He stared blankly at the man pinning him down and hovering above him. Immediately, he put it all together. "Get off me." He didn't mean to sound cold, but it was a general reaction.

The man looked hurt, as he slowly pulled his hands back to his sides, but betrayed his inner feelings with a bright smile. "The doctor's said you just passed out. A few more minutes and you would've probably died. I'm happy you didn't."

Chris narrowed his eyes a bit to clear his vision. "Aren't you, _Evan_?"

Evan's face colored instantly. //He remembered me?!// "Uh...Uh...Y-Yeah." //Come on Evan pull it together!//

Chris cocked an eyebrow upwards. //It's that dude from before. The one who touched me.// "Why are you here?"

Evan shied his gaze away from Chris and onto the floor. His ears had gone red too. "I-I got Dave to l-let you go. It's n-no big deal."

Chris scoffed heavily, "It's hard to imagine someone _so small_ being able to shift that huge giant." His cold blues fell on Evan- who was now looking at him with disbelief. "But then again, I'm sure you must have _given_ him something. People don't call Batista by his first name unless they've rolled around in his bed."

Evan glared harshly at Chris. The blush on his face got redder with anger. "People call Dave whatever they want! It's called being his friend! He has Rey, and he would never do that to him!"

If it wasn't for the pain killers and whatever else these sick doctors had pumped into him, Chris knew he would be wickedly laughing right about now. The kid's innocent reaction amused him.

"You make that leviathan sound like a saint, when he's closer to the Devil." Chris sighed inwardly, "Listen, thanks for -"

Evan all but shouted at the top of his lungs, "Don't say it! I told you it was nothing!" He turned around and walked away – steam puffing from his ears. He stopped once he reached the door, "I hope you get better Chris."

Chris's brow creased downward, "Hey don't call -" The door slamming behind Bourne stopped him mid-sentence. His facial features lightened as he stared at the ceiling and muttered, "- my name."


	2. Chapter 2

**I forgot in to say this in the previous Chapter... While I will try my best not to, I will deviate from the timeline that most fans are used to. I will leave out matches, backstage stuff, and whatever other encounters, and MOST LIKELY replace them with made-up stuff. I am REALLY sorry if you don't like that. **

**Hope you enjoy otherwise! :D**

**Okay... back to the story.**

***-*-***

The loud screams and chants of the energetic RAW crowd could be clearly heard. The sounds even managed to pierce the locker room, which was near empty as the show was drawing to a close.

//He remembered my name!// A red blush lit up his smiling face instantly. He tried his best to suppress the girly-squeal that threatened to escape his throat.

"Bourne! You're on in five!" A gruff voice called from behind the door.

Evan snapped out of his dream state, quickly busying himself with getting into the remainder of his ring gear. However, the minute those baby blues and that low, throaty voice that had called his name popped into his mind, Evan immediately went full circle landing right back into his former dream state.

Chris Jericho had called his name.

//Okay, so he said some other mean things after that//, Evan's face soured as he recalled Chris' 'insinuations' about him sleeping with Dave Batista, //but, those were only insinuations right?// He argued with no one in particular, //and he only said it because he was tired and agitated.//

Another drawn sigh escaped Evan's lips as his shoulders slumped for emphasis. For some reason he just instantly felt very exhausted. //I wonder if he's okay// he thought as he looked down at the floor.

"Earth to Evvy! Earth to Evvy!"

Evan quickly shot up to a standing position – bracing for something. "J-Jackie!" Relief washed over his face. "You scared me!" He threw his friend a quick hug. "So what brings you by?"

"I have a match – or something like it – remember?" He gently nudged his friend in the shoulder, "It's our debut man!"

"Nervous?" Evan gave a cheeky smile, knowing full well that the term was meant more for him than Jack.

Jack countered with a cocky smile, "Nah man. I'm _Jack Swagger_ remember."

Evan chuckled softly holding his palms up as a means to show defeat, "All right. All right. I give."

Jack eyed his friend closely – more specifically the slight blush that was present on his face. "Evvy, are you thinking about _Jericho_?"

At the mention of the name, Evan's eyes widened with a 'how-did-you-know' behind them and he blushed heavily. "N-No way man! I-I'm thinking about the match! The match! W-Why would I be thinking about Chris?!" His voice trembled terribly.

Jack gawked at the smaller man. "_Chris?_" A hearty laugh came up from the core of his being – tears of joy slipping out of azure eyes, "You are thinking about him! Oh man you're just too easy to read!" Once his laughter suppressed, he landed a pat on Evan's shoulder, "So, did you manage to get _any_ sleep at all last night? Hmm?"

Evan blinked quickly in an effort to comprehend. "Yeah. I got tonnes of sleep. I watched TV and bit, but I fell asleep when Dirty Harry came on. I was totally exhausted after training yesterday."

What started as a crack on Swagger's face soon became a smile. "You're too innocent you know that." He leaned in closer to his friend to minimize the length of the information channels. "Come on Evvy. You can tell me. Hell, I _know_ Jericho's good. I mean for an old guy, he's got a hell of a lot of stamina."

Evan's face sold genuine shock, "Huh? What are you talking about? I haven't seen Chris since Friday."

"Wait... you weren't with him last night?" Jack drew back a bit as his mischievous smile vanished.

Evan scoffed, "No. What made you think that?"

Jack shrugged as he raised his eyebrows, "Well...since you called him _'Chris'_ and not Jericho, I thought you...you know..."

Evan glared at him. His face was deadpan. "You thought I slept with him."

Jack hastily looked to his left as if something was suddenly there, before giving Evan a sheepish look, "Did you?"

"No!" Evan shook his head in disbelief. "Why do you and Chris think that way?"

"Jericho thinks you slept with him?" Jack scrunched his nose. "Weird."

"No!" Evan slapped his forehead with an open palm, "He just thought that I slept with Batista because I called him by his first name."

"Okay. Whew, you had me worried there." Jack sighed dramatically and then smiled, "Well. I hear Orton's music, so I suggest you get going."

Evan glanced at the doorway when the 'Voices' theme hit his ears. He quickly ran to the door, smiling and shouting "Talk to you later" to Jack from over his shoulder before disappearing. Jack causally crossed his arms across his large chest and inhaled deeply. //Evvy and Chris. What a pair// He slowly shook his head as if to add wisdom to his thoughts, before a shout caused him to look back at the door.

A technician stood there. "You're on in ten Swagger!"

"Yeah!"

Orton was scary. It wasn't the cold, stay-away-from-me-or-you-die kind of scary that Chris had. It was a sadistic, I-_will_-kill-you..._slowly_ that Orton had. Despite being good friends with Cody, Evan could not help but wonder from time to time what such a sweet guy like Cody saw in someone like Orton.

_***_

_Cody was winning – again. Swagger was off with Jericho, so he and Evan had gathered in the empty hotel room to play a new video game that Orton had given him recently. _

"_Ha! Ha! I beat you!" Cody said teasingly._

_Evan stuck out his tongue in a childish counteract, "Only because I let you win, Cody!"_

"_Yeah right! You wish, Evan!"_

_The two laughed at each other, stopping only when they sat down on the bed. Cody chuckled to himself as a thought crossed his mind. Evan looked up at him. _

"_What is it Codes?"_

"_Nothing. I was just wondering what Swagger sees in a dick like Jericho."_

_Evan glared at him, "Chris is not a dick!" His face burned red when Cody's cerulean eyes widened at his sudden response. //No use trying to back out now// "H-He's a nice person, and he's supportive, a-and really s-sweet. P-People just d-don't..." He scoffed, and quickly turned away, "Besides, how can you even call him that when you don't even know him?! I mean you're one to even talk when you're with that creep Orton!"_

_Cody frowned. "Randy is not a creep!" _

_A silent pause hovered over them. Cody looked at the floor, and then sighed in defeat. When Evan got really mad he was known to stay as silent as the grave, and be very, very cold. He wrapped his arm around the smaller man's shoulder and pulled Evan's head onto his. Evan looked up at him with watery eyes. Cody smiled sweetly with an apologetic look on his face._

"_I'm sorry. You're right. I don't know the kind of person Jericho is, so I shouldn't be saying that."_

_Evan gave a weak smile, "And I'm sorry for calling Orton a creep." His voice rose a bit, "But I really don't know why you like him, Codes."_

_Cody's face tinged red. "W-Well, he's nice. And strong. And loving. And....pleasing." //Wow// Cody thought, //that sounds really weird// "Plus he makes me happy you know! He spends time with me, and makes me feel special." His face all but melted from the heat of his blushing. Talking about Randy like that made him recall unmentionables. _

_Evan looked at him silently for a second before his eyes flashed with a hint of understanding, "Oh! I get it – like how he buys you these games right? That really is only something a nice guy would do. I never thought of it that way."_

_Cody opened his mouth to reiterate what he really meant, but stopped and re-phrased. "Well, what about you Evan?"_

"_Me?" Evan curled is knuckle under his chin and thought hard. He beamed at Cody. "I like the smile Orton gives you. It's a really sweet smile, contrary to his usual sadistic one." He held his hands up defensively, "But it's not like I like Orton or anything! I just like the smile. That's all."_

_Cody face palmed his forehead and let out a small, dry chuckle. "No. No Evvy." He gave Evan a look of pity. The man's innocence appalled him, "As nice as that is, what I meant was: why do you like Jericho?" _

_Evan's breath hitched. He eased off of Cody's shoulder, and looked at the blank TV screen ahead. //Why do I like Chris?// "Um...well...he's attractive, and he's...nice."_

_Cody laughed shortly, "Evan. I'm nice. Are you telling me that you like me too?"_

_Evan slowly shook his head. "I like you Cody, but I love Chris."_

_Cody had spoken the truth. Everyone was nice. Even the fearsome leviathan – Dave Batista – was a nice guy. However, there was a huge difference – in Evan's mind - between Chris' nice, and everyone else's nice. Everyone was just nice because it was polite. Chris was nice by nature._

_Cody noted the long silence, "Evan, look at me."_

_He obeyed._

_Cody gently clasped Evan's face with his hands searching those large brown eyes for clues. "Evan, you love him. Are you sure?"_

"_Yes." Evan's eyes focused on Cody. "I have for a long time now. But..."_

_Cody looked worried, "But?"_

_Evan smiled childishly, "I won't tell him yet."_

"_Huh?" Evan's response made Cody even more worried. "You want this to stay one-sided?!" He took hold of Evan's mall shoulders and gave the man a gentle – but sharp – shake. "Take it from me Evan; it's not going to accomplish anything but self-inflicted hurt! If you're afraid of what he'll say don't be! So he's sleeping with Swagger! Randy was sleeping with someone else too when I told him my feelings! Don't be scared Evan! Just tell him! If he's this 'Mr. Nice Guy', and if you show him that you really, really love him, I guarantee he'll consider it! Heck the two of you might be a couple in no time!"_

_Evan laughed a bit. "Thanks for the support Cody." He patted his friend on his hand, "But Jack isn't the reason. He even knows. Plus it's not fear that's compelling me either. I just don't want to tell him. Not now. So please keep it a secret okay?"_

_Not fully understanding why, and not liking the idea one bit, Cody agreed to please his friend. If Evan was okay with how things were, then he'd be the better man and let the chips fall where they may, and be there if some of them got lost._

_***_

Swagger's music blared loudly in his ears. //I'm gonna need a ton of painkillers if I even want to have a hope of sleeping tonight// He rubbed his sore neck. //That RKO is a brutal move!// The pain in his ribs had subsided after a few soothing rubs, but he knew it was only due to the fact that his neck pains outweighed everything else. Evan slowly hobbled down the hall wondering if Orton would be able to even stand after having to face two more people with such a beaten body. He entered the locker room and sat down. There was a TV inside. He looked on as Jack lied through his teeth on live television. Evan tried his hardest to stifle his laughter, but found it hard to do so, and it garnered him a few questioning stares. Headline topic for the locker room next week: New kid gone mental after debut match.

"Hey Evan." A soft voice called.

Evan glanced up at the owner, and smiled softly as he rubbed his near broken neck. "Hey Codes. How're you holding up?"

Cody sighed loudly as he looked at the happenings on the TV, "Well, Ted's throwing himself into a ballistic fit about Batista being too stubborn and not knowing when to just let it go. He really wants to go out and help Randy."

Evan chuckled, "And you?"

"It's killing me right now to be standing here and talking to you."

"If if helps, I held up a bit to not hurt him too much."

Cody slid his eyes down at Evan, "And yet he _still_ hurt you." His eyes drew to the screen, "Thanks though. You did really great out there." He looked away once Henry threw Randy to the mat, and gave his friend a look bordering worry, and uncertainty. "I hear Jericho's back."

"Really?" Evan's mood instantly brightened. "That's a relief. I was getting really worried."

Cody chewed on his lower lip deciphering how next to move. "Um, Evan?" Evan gave him his full attention. "What are you going to do about...well...is it time to tell Jericho?"

Evan's smile faded as he stared absently at the screen. His voice lowered to a bare whisper. "Yeah. It is."

***-*-***


	3. Chapter 3

**Quick note: Because Chris is a top superstar, and has a lot of pull, he's able to come and go as he pleases. So, don't be surprised to see him appear on RAW from time to time :D **

**Okay... back to the story.**

The hallways were almost empty by the time he showed up. It had taken him a day to finally get out of the hospital. And out of the good will located deep inside his heart – and because he really couldn't be bothered with it – Chris even decided not to bring up the issue with Dave to the higher ups. He wasn't seriously hurt, and right now his mind was occupied with other pressing issues that outweighed the leviathan. He needed to find Bourne.

After last seeing the kid standing over him in the hospital, and eventually leaving the room, Chris had been bothered with his inability to thank Bourne at the time. By nature, Chris was the perfect gentleman. Holding doors, saying please before a request, and thank you afterwards(despite the answer), picking up the tab, and paying for everything whenever he went on a date, were only a few things on the laundry list of things that Chris Jericho found himself doing out of habit. His family had raised him to be courteous and polite, and drilled into him the consequences of skipping out on the act.

This was the only reason Jericho had driven from his hotel to this RAW show to locate a man he could give two cents about.

As he walked down the hallways, the people moved out of his way. This didn't come as a surprise as Chris was used to the blatant avoidance act by now. That didn't mean that it did not annoy him though. His eyes caught an open door with the word 'Legacy' written boldly on a gold plate that hung at the top. He smirked deviously, and entered the room. Cody was the first to see him, but it was the man, whose lap he was seated in, who spoke.

Cold biting eyes glared almost instantly with displeasure. "What do you want Jericho?"

"Nothing." Jericho leaned on the lockers lining the wall and shrugged. He took note of the desperate look in Cody's eyes as they raked the ground. The poor kid was past the point of embarrassment. "But while I'm here I may as well take care of a few things."

Randy's fingers gently stroked Cody's exposed flesh - that lined his sides – in thought. Jericho was not a man Randy was fond of. He just didn't like him. "I suppose none of those 'things' have anything to do with Legacy right?"

"I don't know." Jericho's sly grin broadened as he focused his stare on Cody. "It really depends on Mr. Rhodes."

Randy's eyes slid to Cody. Cody looked up at Jericho, and glanced between Randy's piercing gaze and Jericho's own. His heart beat a mile a minute.

"Me?" He scoffed slightly – clawing at some form of stability. He wasn't one to enjoy the spotlight when it came to Randy looking generally pissed. "What about me?"

Jericho dropped his grin. "Do you know Bourne?"

Cody blinked a bit as he processed what was asked. "Evan?" He glanced at Randy with a small smile on his face – relieved to find his lover glaring at Jericho. "Yeah. We're friends." He raised an eyebrow, "Why are you looking for him?"

"Where would I find him?"

//Okay Mr. Bossy.// " Well, he might still be in the locker room a few steps away from here. Other than that he's back at the hotel."

"Thanks." His voice ran through sandpaper.

Jericho pushed himself off the lockers, and headed towards the door. Randy continued to bore holes into the man as he watched silently. His jaw clenched and unclenched showing his annoyance with Jericho's presence.

"Hey Jericho!" Randy's voice roared through the room.

Jericho stopped, but didn't turn around.

"That kid's out of your league now."

Jericho chuckled darkly, "Is that a hint of _stupidity_ I hear coming from you Orton? I thought you'd be smarter." He half turned – still not making eye contact with Randy. "I'm not out of anyone's league. They're all out of mine."

Without caring for Randy's next choice of words, Jericho left the locker room and closed the door gently behind him. Cody looked at the door and then at Randy, and then looked at the door again. His scrunched his face slightly.

"That guy really needs some help. He's downright creepy!" At the sound of Randy scoffing harshly under his breath, Cody looked at him, "Aren't you going to do anything? He basically called you stupid you know."

"Why?" Randy smiled knowingly at Cody, amused with his boy's bewildered expression, "Jericho's a grown man. And I'd much rather not give him a reason to be on my tail. I don't need shit like that."

Cody couldn't help but pout. "If it was me, I'd have gone and kicked his butt!" Randy let out a dry chuckle, bringing a smile to Cody's face. //But what does he want with Evan?//

The locker room was empty. That is until Swagger stepped inside. At first, the younger man froze in his footsteps once he spotted Jericho seated ever so nicely on the bench and staring dead on at the blank TV screen. Swagger weighed his options – run or don't run. A playful shout came from behind startling Jack. John Cena appeared behind him with a smile that immediately fell once he spotted Jericho.

"Jericho!" Cena stepped in front of Jack – protecting the man. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Chris sighed softly, and slid his eyes up at John. He didn't get what he came to give, and running into two people he'd rather not see wasn't what he wanted. "Nice to see you too Cena."

Cena stepped forward, stopping once he stood directly ahead of Jericho. Chris leaned back, let out a heavy breath and flicked his eyes up at John. Sensing the tension in the air, Swagger opted to step in.

"John...don't-" Cena shoved a palm in his direction cutting him off, and signalling him to cease any interference.

John smiled, "Now I don't care why you came here, but I'm glad you did."

Jericho's eyes remained unmoved. His expression remained cold and very blasé.

John's smile fell, "I've wanted to say something to you for a while now."

"And your fat ass couldn't get over to Smack Down and say it there. Instead, you hoped I'd come here. Lucky for you I did."

John's jaw clenched, but he chuckled heartily to calm down. "I know you and Jack are a thing of the past, but I want you to know that you best keep your hands off him. And not just your hands_._ I want you -mind, body and soul- to stay the hell away from Jack."

"I have no idea who you're talking about Cena." He blinked. "Could you be referring to the man standing in the doorway?"

John cracked his neck loudly as he forcefully cocked it to the side. He quickly calmed himself and nodded to no one in particular with a large smile on his face. "All right. Good to know you understand." He turned on his heels and left.

Jack stayed in the doorway. John walked past him with anger fuming out from every available pore, but it didn't move him from his current position. Chris stood to his feet and headed to the door. Jack blocked his path. The older man stared at him through curtained lashes.

"Why did you say that?" Jack's voice was laced with worry.

"Eavesdropping isn't a skill required for this line of work. Maybe you ought to focus on something more useful. Like the ability to hide your feelings. Not everyone's interested in what's going on with your emotional frame of mind." He stepped forward only to be blocked again. "Move."

Jack's voice rose. "You're such a dick Jericho! Your attitude's not normal! Why are you like this?!" His hands balled into fists as his voice lowered, "When we were together, you were nice. I get that you're heartbroken, and even angry with me, but you don't have to be bitter."

Jericho sneered at Jack, "Heartbroken? First off, I don't even know you. That ought to clear everything up. Your bed warmer Cena was able to comprehend my response, and so should you. Second, why would I be angry at a stranger? And third, get out of my way."

His actions went before his thoughts. Before he knew it, Jericho head was turned sideways, and his knuckles hurt. Rage filled his blue eyes – darkening them by the second. //Why are you like this?// Swagger continued to punch Jericho. The older man didn't even bother to fight back. The most energy he chose to exert was channelled into self-protection. //Why don't you care?! Wipe that look off your face!//

Swagger's body was pulled away from Jericho. He looked over his shoulder to see Cena clutching him. Tears flowed from his eyes – Cena instantly got mad.

"What did you do to him Jericho?!" The man all but roared, causing Chris' head to hurt.

Swagger pulled his boyfriend back and hung his head in shame. "He didn't do anything!" He murmured under thick, heavy breaths, "I just...lost it."

Cena fumed as he stood between both men. Jericho – now standing – wiped his face with the back of his hand. His eyes caught the third party standing a few steps behind Cena in shock.

"Hello Bourne. I've been looking for you."

Cena and Jack looked at Evan – the latter blond saddened to find his friend frozen in shock and dismay. Noting the need to leave coming from his boyfriend, Cena nudged Swagger forward and the two left the room. Only Evan and Jericho remained. The door closed behind the brunette.

//It's Chris Jericho.// His throat dried instantly. //Why is Chris Jericho here? Why was he looking for me? Why can't I move? Come on Evan!//

Jericho walked closer to Bourne – relieved somewhat when the kid didn't move away. "About last Friday -"

"I told you it was nothing! Really." Evan inhaled audibly. His heart beat rapidly; gaining towards cardiac arrest. "You don't have to thank me. Anyone would've -"

"No one would've done what you did." Jericho planted both hands on Evan's small shoulders. The smaller man tried his hardest to suppress the sudden trembles that racked his body slightly. A small smile lit up Jericho's face, "I just came here to thank you."

//He came here...for me?// Evan blushed heavily. He cleared his throat loudly, and smiled "Well, you're welcome, Chris."

Jericho glared at him. "Don't call my name Bourne. Unless you're sleeping with me, you don't get the privilege of calling me so familiarly."

Evan paused, and dropped his smile for a bit "So, you're saying I have to be _sleeping _with you in order to call you by your first name?"

"In order to call me by_ any_ name."

Evan mulled it over. //I guess that makes sense. I mean, I've slept with tons of guys already – even some strangers – and they all let me call them silly nicknames afterwards when they wouldn't allow at it at first.// His face lit up again. //But... I'll be sleeping with Chris! This is totally different!//

Jericho eyed Bourne as he lost himself in thought. //"Don't call me unless you sleep with me?!" What the hell am I saying? I just came to thank this guy and now I'm offering up my services? When did it get to this point? I'm not even desperate!//

Evan shot his eyes up at Chris. Fierce determination was written all over his face. "All right. I'll be sleeping with you tonight."

//He agreed?! He hasn't even asked me for anything in return!// Chris hid his inner turmoil with outward serenity.

"But in return -"

//Ah yes. Here it comes.//

Evan paused before taking a deep breath to continue. "You have to give me the side facing the wall."

"H-Huh?" Jericho sold utter confusion.

Evan blushed again as Jericho's eyes fell right on him. "W-Well, I just ... I don't want to fall off the bed okay! If you want that side I won't complain. A lot of people like that side, so I end up on the edge when I sleep with them."

//Wait a second! Don't tell me -// Jericho cut his own thoughts short, "You don't think I mean sleeping with me as in literally _lying down and sleeping beside me_ do you?!"

Evan looked at him with confusion. "Of course I think that. Why wouldn't I? I mean the term doesn't have any other meaning."

//I don't believe this.// The situation proved to be too much for Chris as he suddenly burst out laughing without a second thought. It felt good to laugh out loud, and he was a bit saddened when he suddenly stopped. "Listen to me Bourne...wait before that.... all the people you slept with were -"

"Sleepovers."

//Can he _be_ any denser?!// "It seems we're not understanding each other. When I say you have to sleep with me, I mean..." Evan smiled brightly at him in anticipation. //I feel like I'm kicking a baby seal into a wood chipper// "I...uh..." He let out an exasperated sigh. "I'll carry you to my hotel."

"Sweet! I'll grab my stuff. Just wait here okay?"

Before Jericho could even think of responding, Evan was gone. He sat back on the bench located behind him and pasted the back of his head onto the wall. His eyes squinted when the blaring fluorescent lights hit them. //What the hell am I doing? This is insane. Why did I just invite that kid to a sleepover?// The questions proved to be too difficult as his brain gave him no answers. A smile crossed his face. //Well, he is sort of cute. If I think about it, he reminds me of one of those small, fluffy animals. Like a puppy, or kitten. And no human being would sleep with an animal – or a baby animal at that// He dropped his shoulders. //I feel like a pervert.//

Evan burst into the Legacy locker room. He stared wide eyed for a moment at the scene ahead of him – Cody pinned to the floor. Naked. Randy hovering over him with his lips just less than inches from being below the belt – but quickly covered his eyes with both hands.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I just... I didn't... I need..." He bumped into the wall. "I just need my stuff! Chris is waiting on me!" He stopped moving for a second. "Oh wait. I haven't slept with him yet so I can't call him Chris." He shifted his weight from his left foot to his right, "Um... is it okay if I open my eyes. It's really hard to see anything."

Randy got up and looked at Cody. "Are all his lights on upstairs Cody?"

Cody coughed pointedly after shutting the metal mouth of his pants zipper. "I wonder about that sometimes."

He walked towards Evan and removed the man's hands from his eyes. Evan looked at him with the puppy-eyed effect. Cody sighed. "What am I going to do with you Evvy? You're supposed to be _older _than me. You don't have to shy away when you see this stuff. Aren't you used to it by now?"

"No." His response was clear, dry and cut and it caught Cody by surprise.

"Uh... okay." He shook his head rapidly to re-focus. "Your stuff is in the same locker we always leave them in." He gave Evan a sly smirk, "And what's this about Jericho _waiting_ for you? And you guys are going to _sleep_ together?"

"I know right?" A huge accomplished smile splashed across Evan's face, "Yeah! He told me to sleep with him so I can call him by his first name, or any name _I _want for that matter. Plus, he's driving me to his hotel because I said I'd sleep with him tonight."

Both Randy and Cody's mouth dropped open. Cody swallowed hard, considering his next words, "Evan, did you tell him your feelings already?"

"No."

His breath hitched. "But you _want_ to sleep with him?"

"Yeah. He's even giving me the side to the wall! Something _you _never do."

"Me?" Instantly Cody's mind put everything into place. Randy's mind seemed to work faster as he was already laughing loudly by the time the realization hit Cody. "You're having a sleepover?!"

"Yeah." Confusion sat on Evan's face. "Why are you shocked Cody? It's _just_ a sleepover. It's not like I'm going to have sex with him. Jeez."

Randy slammed his hand into the locker as he continued laughing hard. Cody shot him an ineffective glare, before turning to Evan with pity in his eyes. "Evan, I'm happy for you, but -" //Hold on Codes. Jericho's not stupid. He probably knows already what the term means to Evan, so maybe it really is just a sleepover. And besides, your room is just two doors down from Jericho's. If anything, you can just head over there to check// "Have a good time Evvy."

"Thanks."

Evan ran towards the fifth locker on the wall. Randy looked at him and slowly shook his head. His laughter had subsided. Cody watched as Evan pulled out his gym bag and ran out of Legacy's locker room – thanking Cody from over his shoulder as he left.

"I suddenly feel very sorry for Jericho."

Cody looked at Randy, "Why? I think Evvy's sweet."

"And that's exactly why." Randy smirked deviously. "If you came to my room and laid that pretty little ass down beside me and just _expected_ me to turn and fall asleep. You'd sooner be devoured down to mere bones."

Cody landed a playful hit on Randy's large arm, "Perv!"

"Don't you know it?" He licked his lips as his icy stare ran over Cody's exposed chest. "So how about it, Cody? Want to come over for a sleepover?"

**So this chapter was just weird. LOL. Onto the next one! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Let me just say this.... I DO NOT THINK CHRIS JERICHO IS A PEDOPHILE!!!! OKAY?! I JUST DON'T! But.... a naughty little thought came along, and I couldn't help but make Jericho question whether or not he was. **

**I'M SO SORRY IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT!!!! I JUST COULDN'T STOP MYSELF!!!! **

**Okay...back to story.**

***-*-***

For Chris, the drive to the hotel was utterly noisy. Between Evan's continuous chatter, and his own mental arguments, he had not gotten a single second of silence. However, where many other people would have probably been screaming at the top of their lungs in agony by now Chris Jericho, well known for his lengthy patience that to this day remains unrivaled, remained calm.

"I'm sorry about Jack." Evan's voice trickled in, "He's really a nice guy you know, and I'm sure he didn't mean what he did. Back when I was with ECW, a lot of guys picked on me because of my size. Even though I'm basically thirty. Okay, so I'm three years short, but I was technically older than most of them." Evan twiddled his thumbs, "But, Jack took me under his wing, and people started backing off. It's not that I _need_ help defending myself; it's just that I got tired of doing it alone. I'm really a fierce guy you know."

//As fierce as a ball of wool.// Jericho stifled the threatening chuckle that crept up on him.

"I mean, Jack helped train me to build up some more muscles. Plus I've got my black belt so it's all good. Oh yeah, which hotel are you staying in?"

"The -"

"Because, you know, I don't think they'll just let me in like that. Although, I've never really stayed in a hotel room by myself, so I've never had guests check in. Oh but if you count in that time I spent with my parents, then I guess that could be just one time."

//Doesn't he ever shut up?// A low threatening growl escaped Jericho's lips, but fell on deaf ears.

"The hotel I'm staying in has a night club in the basement. It's really cool, although I've only gone there once. Cody told me it's actually an anything goes club, and that I shouldn't really go there. But, aside from that one time this weird guy tried to take me away, it's a really nice place. I don't get the difference though. I mean, it looks like every other club, and it serves almost the same stuff, so why do they call it an anything goes club?"

//Should I even dare to answer that?// Chris cleared his throat loudly, "Well -"

"Unless," Evan planted his fist into an open palm. His smile and eyes brightened, "it's supposed to mean that you can say what you want and do whatever you want and it's all legal. That would explain why no one really did anything, or called the police on that guy. I mean except for Randy. He stepped in and told the guy to fuck off. You know he's really not the creep I thought he was."

//Like... I... give... a... damn!// Chris ground his teeth.

"Granted I don't get _why _Cody likes Randy, but he said something about him being nice – because he buys him games and stuff. I guess that makes sense."

//I have a feeling that's not exactly what he meant.//

"If your hotel's close then we can pop over to the hotel I'm staying at and you can see the club for yourself. Oh but, does your hotel have a club like that?//

"Actually -"

Evan placed his hand under his chin in thought, and cut in "Oh yeah. You like solitude right? I guess you wouldn't go to clubs. They probably cramp your style right. Sorry for talking about something so boring." He laughed a bit.

// Oh crap! I've been blabbing non-stop, and Chris hasn't said a word! Awwww! This always happens when I get nervous!// He gazed at Chris whose attention was focused on the road, //He's so cool! Just sitting there. He just reeks of maturity! Why can't I be like that?// He pouted a bit, before a light bulb went on over his head. //Alright. I just have to be quiet. Maybe Chris wants to talk, but couldn't because of me. But, how do I get him talking if there's no conversation between us at all?// His brown eyes landed on the radio. //That's it!// Evan turned the radio on, and Chris had had enough.

"Bourne." His voice grated against the back of his throat.

Evan turned to him. "If you don't like this station, I can change it." Without waiting for a response from Jericho, he changed the station.

The rock music that had been playing was suddenly transformed into boring radio-talk. It was featuring some cover story that seemed to be about the police finally being able to catch some criminal that had been running around for some time now.

"**So the police caught him? How?"**

"**Well, they're not giving full details of the capture yet, but from what we know, it seems the guy was driving with his latest soon-to-be-victim, twelve year old Todd Fisherman. When they got to a gas station near the motel he was currently residing in, the owner recognized him and notified the police."**

"**Isn't this guy forty or something?"**

"**Yes. But that's to be expected. Pedophiles are normally people ranging in their upper thirties to fifty five – even older than that. They normally go after children younger than thirteen, or in rare cases, ordinary teenagers or even young adults who just look like little kids."**

"**That's just downright sick. These guys should just be locked away and put on death roll once caught! Just skip the court part and execute them!"**

Jericho's voice was downed to a meager whisper. "Change the station." His knuckles paled as he gripped the steering wheel harder.

//Focus Chris. They're not talking about you. Why would they be talking about you? You're just driving a co-worker to a hotel.// He swallowed thickly, //Okay. So it's to your hotel room, but it's only a sleepover. Just a sleepover.//

Evan hadn't heard Chris' request, or was good at pretending not to hear, as he started humming something while staring out the window. Chris threw long glances at the younger man, and suddenly felt the air constrict around him. //He looks like a child! This is wrong! Very wrong!// He glared at the road ahead, brows heavily creased for emphasis. //What's wrong with me?! It's not like I haven't been with younger guys before!// He shot Evan another glance. //But, at least they all looked their age!// His eyes flicked to the road, and back on Evan who was now fiddling with the radio once more. //Such a small body and that face. Not to mention his oblivious innocence! He could pass really for a little boy!//

"Is there something wrong?" Worry carved into Evan's blank expression.

Chris quickly faced the road – stopping his shaky hands from throwing the vehicle into oncoming traffic. "Turn off the radio." It was all he trusted his tongue to let slip right now.

Evan obeyed.

Chris sighed heavily, before giving Evan a long stare. The younger man stared back with widening eyes and a look of bewilderment running across his face. By the time Chris looked at the road, Evan's face was completely engulfed in a red colour. //Did I offend him?// Evan glanced at the radio. //Maybe I shouldn't have touched that. I didn't even ask his permission!// He looked back nervously at Chris. //He's probably mad at me. And bored.//

The car turned into an underground parking lot. The lights were bright, but some of them flickered a bit. Chris turned the wheel, and skilfully parked the car in one go. Evan clawed at himself to suppress the urge to clap his hands and scream 'That was awesome!' If he had any hope of wooing over Chris Jericho, then the childish act engraved within him would have to move over and make way for an impromptu mature act. Evan knew all too well that Chris Jericho was a prestigious man who did not have the time, or patience for juvenile behavior. //You can do this Evan. This is your one shot! You have to make a good impression if you want him to even consider your feelings!//

Chris eased back into his seat, and slid his eyes over to Evan – a bit surprised to find the kid staring at him. //Well Chris, you've dug yourself a nice grave here. It's time to jump in it before somebody comes along and does that for you.// He opened his door and placed one foot outside. His back turned to Evan as he let out another sigh – not aware that having done that, Evan's heart had stopped for two seconds.

"Um, Chr -" //Wait! I can't call him that!// "Um...ah..." //Come on! What am I doing? This isn't the time to go retard Evan!//

Chris left the car and slammed the door shut. Evan's large eyes curtained under the crushing sadness he immediately felt. He stared absently at his fingers that lay lifeless on his jeans-covered lap, unsure of what next to do. He opted to open the door, but instead the door flew open before his fingers had even brushed the chrome metal lock. Chris looked down at him blankly.

"Come on. We're here." His dry tone was more than welcoming.

Evan beamed a nervous smile. Chivalry was not something he was used to. "O-Okay."

Once outside, Chris closed the door and - with the touch of a button - the car. Under the light, the chrome finishes shone brightly. Evan all but gaped at the beauty of the luxurious car. Under the dim lights back at the RAW parking lot, the car looked like your average, run-off-the-mill, black two door. Under the brightness of the hotel's parking lot, Evan got a firsthand look at the expensive car. A two door Mercedes Benz coated with black metallic skin that sparkled. Everything that was metal had been touched with a skilful chrome hand. This was no ordinary car. In fact, this was no ordinary rental.

"It's mine."

Evan blinked rapidly and turned to face Chris. "H-Huh?"

"This car," He swiftly nudged his head in the direction of the car, "isn't a rental. It's mine."

"W-What?! But I thought you... I mean..._everyone _drove rentals! Isn't that like a rule or something?"

Chris shrugged nonchalantly. "Maybe, but half the rules don't apply to me." He turned to walk away, holding a large blue gym bag, and shouldering a black and white one.

Snapping himself out of his thoughts that had developed around Chris' reply, he took immediate notice of the bag Jericho was shouldering. "W-Wait! That's mine!"

"Relax Bourne." Chris stopped and looked over his shoulder. "I'm not going to steal it. I just think it's too heavy for you. That's all."

He was blushing, and his eyes had shied away, but he was still angry. Evan lounged forward, and yanked the bag away from Jericho. "Thanks but no thanks!"

Chris watched intently as Evan sprinted off towards the elevator. He scoffed and then chuckled lightly. //A fierce guy indeed.// He swaggered towards the younger man – who was hiding his face as best as he could by looking to his far left when Jericho appeared on his right. The elevator appeared and the large metal doors parted like curtains. Both men stepped inside.

***-*-***

Everything was familiar: from the marble tiled lobby, to the blond receptionist with too much make-up on, to the red room doors with their own golden-plated key-card locks. Evan almost fainted on spot when Chris opened his door to reveal the all too familiar single bedroom. It was a mirror-reflection of Swagger's. //I'm right back at my hotel! Chris Jericho...// Blood drained from his face, //...was in the same hotel!//

Not taking notice of Bourne's uneasiness Chris sauntered into his room and roughly threw his gym bag on the floor beside the bed. He threw off his Ed-Hardy T-Shirt and walked into the bathroom. Once the doors shut behind Jericho, Evan exhaled.

//Oh...crap.// He cautiously stepped into the room, and pushed the door behind him. It locked loudly. Evan quickly looked around in fright, relieved to find that the sudden, loud clicking noise of the door had not caused Chris to come out and shout at him. As he walked to the bed his heart beats grew louder and faster by the second. He stopped almost a full foot away from the large bed that was covered with a thick red comforter threaded with gold, and with red and white linen peeking out from underneath. All that was missing now was some soft music, scented candles, and rose petals. Evan quickly shook the thought out of his head. He clamped his fists in determination. //This may be just a sleepover, but soon it'll be... after I tell him...it'll be -// His face flushed as he collapsed instantly onto the bed – sobbing in his thoughts. //Why am I here?! I'm not ready at all!//

Chris exited the bathroom to find Evan's tiny body crumpled into a kneeling position with his head rested on the bed. He was face down and his gym bag was still clutched into his hands. //He's not asleep.// Chris noted as he walked closer to the younger man, taking a seat beside him. He eyed the back of Evan's neck. Supple flesh coated with milky whiteness that held a tinge of tanned tone beneath. The darkness of his hair seemed alien once it trickled to a well-barbered halt right at the starting point of his neck. Jericho soon found himself sweating massive bullets. His throat parched and he had to flex his fingers - clenching a fist only to unclench it suddenly - in order to steady his breathing and fast paced heart rate.

//Get it together Chris. Get...it...togeth- // The soft moan that escaped Evan's lips derailed Jericho's chain of thought. He watched in a kind of forced horror as the smaller man turned his head to the right. It startled Chris. Bourne's eyes grew wider as he stared dead on onto Chris' face. When his eyes did settle onto the older man's chest, he quickly forced himself to move away. Chris was the first to his feet. Evan straightened himself shortly afterward, protectively clutching his bag to his body. The situation took a sudden right turn to awkward-ville.

"S-So...um..." His eyes slid sideways and downwards and his tone lowered. "Well..." //Think Evvy! Think!// He quickly beamed up a smile at Jericho to lighten the mood. "I brought a game along. I even carried the system."

Chris stayed silent. It wasn't a sign of disrespect, but more a sign of his utter loss for words. He was still in two minds about why he had even agreed to Evan's sleepover, and now here he was looking at the boy through a pair of lust-lenses. //If Evan hadn't gotten up,// Chris thought, //what would I have done?// Not wanting an answer to his sudden question, Chris walked over to the TV, and turned it on. Evan stared blankly at him – lost for second in dream land as his eyes raked over the muscles that moved with every breath Jericho took – but soon returned to the situation once the noise from the television fell on his ears. He dropped his bag and took out a box. Chris looked over at an on-coming Evan. His eyes narrowed a bit as he thought about unmentionables. In a span of fifteen seconds – who was counting is anyone's guess – Bourne's T-Shirt and dark blue jeans had suddenly sky rocketed to the top of Chris' hate list.

In technician skilled fashion, Evan set up the system with ease. Chris opted to hover over the smaller man and just watch in amusement as Evan busied himself with the whole act. Never in his life could Chris recall having watched someone without any physical contact tailing it. He had never, ever just looked at someone without any strange emotion behind it - it was near impossible. Suddenly being able to do what he thought was impossible, put his mind at ease. Evan stood up from the TV with an accomplished smile gracing his face. Chris blinked a bit as his insides started rattling about at the sight. Smiling so effortlessly, Evan looked really sweet.

"All right!" Evan turned to Jericho, forcing a controller into his hands. "This is yours."

Chris stared dumbly at the white stick. He peeked at Evan and mirrored him – putting he strap over his wrist and tightening it. He stared at the TV. "So, what are we doing?"

"Playing video games." Evan hopped about in his spot – excitement coursing through his veins. "I figured we could play a fun, yet simple game, so I chose Mario Go Kart."

Chris looked at him – an eyebrow raised in question, "And that would be _what _exactly?"

Evan's smile dropped like a bomb as he stared at Jericho in astonishment. "Y-You don't what this is? Have you ever played a video game?"

"No." His blatant response almost gave Evan a heart attack.

Evan tried desperately to recall the motions required for blinking, but found it hard to do so at the moment. "W-What about your kids? D-Don't you play these games with them?"

Chris gave a quick shrug. "I buy them these things, but play? No. They just give me a list and I go with it. I've never held any interest in stuff like this."

//Oh yeah.// Evan's startled expression saddened. //He probably thinks this is something stupid. Scratch 'probably'! He does think that! I can't believe I thought this was something mature!//

Noting Evan's depressing mood, Jericho gave him a light pat on the shoulder to get him back to reality. Evan looked at him with an apologetic look branded in his eyes. Jericho smirked a bit, but focused on the TV.

"Because I don't know this stuff," He flexed his neck and shoulders a bit, "I expect you to teach me. Okay?"

Evan's childish smile came back as he nodded, "Count on it!" He gave Jericho a sidelong look, "But don't think I'll go easy on you."

"I wouldn't dare."

Evan pointed his stick to the television – surprising Jericho when the small hand came on – and selected the game. It instantly started. After much deliberation over who Jericho was going to pick – he was weighing each option carefully as though his life depended on it, while Evan just wanted him to choose the coolest looking racers – it finally came down to Evan's pick. After their choice of characters, it took them another ten minutes to get over where they were racing and what they drove. Again, the fault was mostly on Jericho, but Evan's method of choosing wasn't any better either. In the time span it took for the track to load, Evan had instructed Jericho on everything he needed to know – from the basic controls, to a few cheats he could use. In true Chris Jericho essence, he understood what was said – theoretically speaking – but once the track loaded, he had trouble just getting his car moving. Fixing that problem, and reloading the game for the second time, both men gave each other a quick 'I'm-going-to-win' glance before giving the happenings on-screen their full attention.

Seconds later, the race was on.


	5. Chapter 5

**This is where the M in my rating comes into play. So, if you are not 18+, STOP READING!!! If you don't like SLASH (aka two men/two women getting it on and doing the dirty), first: WHY ARE YOU EVEN READING THIS?, and second: You are DENSER than Evan since you haven't realized yet that this is a GAY FAN FICTION STORY!!!! **

**Slash lovers, please enjoy. **

**Okay.... back to story**

***-*-***

It was a stupid idea. //How could I be so dumb?// Sky blue eyes stared absently at the tiles beneath him. Ironically, he had come to the balcony to get some fresh air, but all too soon realized that oxygen was not important right now. //All the warnings were there. From the locker room, to the shit on the radio, to -// He quickly closed his eyes and slowly exhaled once the feel of heated rage began to boil deep inside. He leaned over the balcony railing and eyed the street below. A quick thought that lasted a mere millisecond passed through his mind. He scoffed under his heated breath at the idea, his head hanging lifelessly.

"Don't even _think _about it Jericho."

Chris straightened slowly. He turned a bit – even though he didn't have to. That annoying condescending tone of voice was owned by only one person anyways.

"Why is it that whenever people stand on high places, they immediately think about jumping?"

"Or pushing." Jericho smirked a bit – glad to see the expression his response garnered him. He turned slightly to face the on comer. "Now while I know I will regret asking, why are you here Edge?"

"There is a limit to how far we can carry business Jericho. The name's Adam Copeland, remember?" He stood beside Jericho – grinning with pleasure for reasons unknown. "Now this is funny. While I've come here to grab a look at the stars, your reason for being here is far more..." His eyes rolled around three hundred and sixty degrees only to land right back on Jericho's scowling face. "..._interesting_."

Adam Copeland. Chris knew this man a bit more than he would ever admit to, or like for that matter. Being Canadian by birth was the link that fused these two together in the first place. That along with the fact that they shared a common trainer also formed a relationship between both men. At first, Jericho found Copeland – Edge as he preferred to call him – somewhat interesting. If an institutional term was to be used to describe how Jericho felt about Edge back when the blond started, it would most likely be the term "love". He loved to watch Edge fight. He loved the taller man's charisma. He loved the way he could be a downright scum of the earth that everyone – except for the sadist Christian – would hate, but still be able to draw in the crowd with a simple flick of those gorgeous wavy locks, a trademark smirk, and that air of 'I-know-you-better-than-you-do –and -that-includes-your-secrets' that encompassed the man. However, if a term were required to describe how Jericho felt about Edge just a measly two years after Edge became the talk of the town, it would most definitely be "hate". Above everything else, Chris hated Edge. That hate-me virus the man had been spreading to fans, haters, and co-workers since the day he stepped foot into the wrestling business, soon infected a much younger Chris. Strangely, Chris had no personal or business grudge against the man. It was just because it was Edge why he felt the need to loathe him. The cocky attitude, his snide remarks, or even that smirk all took a back seat to one main problem with Adam Copeland – his unprecedented and highly unwanted unpredictability.

Chris sighed heavily before fully turning to face Edge. Despite Adam being slightly taller, Jericho's piercing gaze more than made up for the distance. "You really have nothing else to do with your time do you?" A furtive smirk grew on his face, "Or maybe Christian has given you nothing much to do."

Edge placed his hands casually on his waist. "You know, normally I'd be bashing my head in about you being _so _damn annoying, but then again, that's just classical Chris."

"Don't call my fucking name."

Edge playfully covered his mouth, but soon dropped the brat-act as his facial features hardened, and his tone went deathly serious, "You may not like me. Hell, you may hate me like every other dog-ass licking person out there, but the feeling's not mutual Jericho." He sighed a bit, "Look, I saw Evan."

At the mention of the name, Chris grit his teeth and turned away to glare at the city as if suddenly he hated it.

Noting the change in mood, Edge leaned over the balcony railing and looked ahead. "He was sitting outside of Orton's room. Apparently he didn't know that Legacy had taken off to go club-hopping and have dinner. Ted's girlfriend is in town, so Orton offered to treat them."

Although no one knew how Adam was able to gathered detailed information without having to speak to the people in question, everyone knew one thing: he was always right on the mark. The same knowledge was no stranger to Chris who had once relied on Copeland's information skills to get himself out of a sticky situation. That was probably the only reason Chris held back – on countless times – from erasing Adam Copeland from the face of the Earth.

"Don't tell me you wanted to join them? That's certainly not like you Edge."

Adam gave a dry laugh, "You might hate it when people call you by your first name, but I sure as hell don't mind." He drew in a long breath, "To answer your question, I_ don't_ want to go anywhere with the merry band trio, however, I _do_ want to know why there is currently a mute in my room who only shows _any_ sign of life when I mention the words 'Chris' and 'Jericho' in the same sentence?"

Chris looked at him with surprise stamped on his face. "B-Bourne is in...your room?!" //The hell?!// "Why is he there?!"

Adam shrugged, "The heck if I know!" He frowned at Jericho, "I had been under punishment for over a week now, and tonight was _finally _the day I'd get some action! Heck Jason was going to let me do whatever I wanted! That doesn't happen often Jericho!" He drew back his anger, "But you know what, it wasn't meant to be. Because as soon as I get the place propped up, a knock comes to the door. In walks Jason, trailed by doom and gloom Evan, and I get told that the kid is taking up my boyfriend's spot because some _dick-wad_ decided to leave him high and dry!"

"How, exactly, is this my fault?!" He was shouting as if the entire world was listening.

Adam theatrically raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes. He pointed at Jericho dramatically. "_You _are the dick wad?! Who would have ever guessed?!" He pointedly put his hands on the outline of his ears, and looked to both sides as if he had difficulty hearing, "Huh? What was that? Oh yeah!" He dropped his hands and glared at Jericho, "No one!"

Chris grimaced and quickly turned his attention back to the city line. It burned him that Evan was bunking with the likes of Edge, but at least he was bunking with a man who – out of almost everyone on the WWE roster – was known to stick to one partner. He didn't look like the faithful type, but Christian had the blond hooked, lined, and sinker. One wrong move and Edge knew Reno would up and leave him without a second thought. However, as much as he despised the fact that Evan was bunking with Christian's play toy, he further hated the fact that he was the cause. Actually, he wasn't the cause. It was just the darn situation that made him 99.99% of the cause. What burned Chris with the heat of a thousand fires right now was that Edge had fooled him into this situation. He knew exactly what was coming next.

"So," Edge stared directly at Chris with 'no-bull-please' written clearly on his face, and that trademark smirk to top it off, "what exactly happened Jericho? I want to hear it from the horse's mouth if you get my drift."

_***_

_It had been three hours since the game had started. Now on the last lap, Chris wondered why he never held an interest for these things. It was surprisingly fun. Evan's mushroom-guy had turned the last corner and was gunning for the finish. Jericho quickly shot him a green turtle shell, but Evan sensed it and moved out of the way. He crossed the line as number one. Chris finished in third place. _

"_I won! I won!" Evan was jumping around with his hands jutting towards the ceiling. His bright smile splashed across the width of his face. "That was awesome!"_

_Jericho smiled, before laughing softly. Even he had to admit, that was awesome. "Well I think I've had my fill of video games." He placed down the controller and sat back on the bed. His eyes did not leave Evan's frame for one second. "You're sweating."_

_Evan stopped moving, took a glance at his shirt and was suddenly hit with the hot kisses of sweat. He blushed almost instantly. "Uh... yeah, I think I went too hard on this game."_

_He turned away to pack up the game system and placed it into the box. Jericho's piercing gaze simply wandered over the vastness of Evan's clothed body. He felt a surge of electricity run through him once he caught a glimpse of Evan's exposed lower back that put itself on display once the younger man had bent down to his limits to pick something up off the floor. //Calm down. Calm down. What are you some sort of sex-crazed madman?// He sat up and headed to the bathroom. _

_Evan watched him as he walked away. His eyes settling weakly on the older man's muscular torso as it moved almost hypnotically. //I don't know how I kept my focus on that game!// He zipped his bag shut and drew in a deep breath. //All right! Now the time has come! I need to tell him my feelings! No hiding, no cowering, no nothing! Just go in there and tell him that I love him to death! Good things will happen. Good things will happen.// He nodded his head vigorously. The sound of a throat being cleared snapped him away from his mental chants._

"_When you've finished conversing with your imaginary friend over there, I'm finished with the bathroom so you can go ahead."_

_Evan raked his brown eyes over Chris. He was already dressed in a pair of plain, pinstriped pajama pants. "Did you actually take a shower already? That was fast!"_

_Chris smirked as he walked towards Evan. "Force of habit. He sat on the bed before resting his back onto the plush spread, "Now get in there, do your stuff and let's get some sleep. I have to go to a breakfast meeting tomorrow, so I'll need to be out of here pretty early."_

"_Okay."_

_Evan's smile remained. He couldn't remove it even if he wanted to at this point, but thankfully he didn't want to. //He's talking! He's actually holding a conversation with me! And it's so laid back!// The urge to squeal with joy crept upon Evan, and once more he had to struggle to keep it at bay. He walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. //Cody's going to be so jealous when he hears about Chris talking so carefree to me! It's so different from his usual cold tone of voice.// Another squeal had to be forcefully repressed. Not wasting any more time, Evan quickly stripped and hopped into the standing shower. He closed the glass door and turned the knobs. _

_Chris stared blankly at the ceiling. Already his hands were laid on his chest in his usual way, and his body was glued to one side of the bed. The sounds of the shower brought his thoughts back to him. //What the hell am I doing?// His breathing was almost nonexistent. //I can't honestly expect this to be it? How many times has someone tried to pull this shit on me?// He forced himself to stop counting . //He's just going to come out here and start ranting about his true feelings. And just when I'm about to move in, he's going to give me an ultimatum before handing me that ass of his.// He all but scoffed at the situation. //I don't believe I've actually made the same mistake twice in one lifetime! This is ridiculous. Haven't I learned anything? Didn't I promise myself not to get into this crap again? What the hell's wrong with me?// _

_Evan hummed playfully as he wrapped a towel over his waist. //Oh crap! In all my excitement I didn't carry any clothes!// Sweat poured from his forehead as he knotted his brow in deep, and intense thought. //I could just ask Chris to loan me something.// His face went instantly red, //But...my waist is ten times smaller so...he'd most likely loan me his underwear! I couldn't wear that!// He knocked balled fists into his skull. //This is bad! This is very, very bad!// He stopped his self mutilation and looked at his phone. //That's right! If this is the same hotel, then Cody will be here! And where Cody is, my clothes are! Thank God!// _

"_Hey! This is Cody – and Randy. Hey don't -! If any punk calls this number I will kill you. Give me that! Leave a message after the beep people!"_

_Evan chuckled a bit at the message, but soon threw a silent fit. //Ah! Where is he at a time like this?!// _

_He stopped pacing and heaved his chest. //Well, all I can do is ask him.// With another mental motivational speech, Evan opened the door and entered the room. _

_Chris was sitting upright on the bed – staring at Evan with a strange expression that sent chills up and down the younger man's spine. Evan slowly walked forward, stopping once he was in hearing distance._

"_Um...I kinda didn't pack for this so -"_

"_It doesn't matter." Chris patted the empty side of the bed – the side attached to the wall. "Here's your spot. You said you liked it right?" //If we're going down that path I may as well speed things up before my emotions get involved.//_

_Evan blushed heavily, "Um...well... I don't have any clothes on, so -"_

_Jericho's voice hit gravel, "What we're going to do next won't require any clothing."_

_//Huh?// "Uh...are we taking another bath? I don't think we need to."_

_Chris face palmed. His unsettling mood slowly trickling away. //Right! I forgot the main difference with this kid!// He looked up at Evan. // He's a total air head!//_

_Evan smiled weakly, "Well, about the clothes. Anything is fine really. You can even throw them away after I wear them. It won't bother me." He frowned a bit in thought, "Oh but, if you really want another shower, then you can go ahead. I really don't want another one."_

_//Why? Why is he so clueless?// His blue eyes dropped a bit to look at the now noticeable rise that had been brewing for a while now. He flicked his eyes back at Evan – glaring at the towel that covered him. The man's chest was rippled with tan, toned muscles, each one more defined than the last. The fresh scent of what could be described as baby powder suddenly drilled into Jericho's nose alerting all odor receptors. Despite his attempts to clear his mind, all sorts of various unmentionables popped up and soon dominated his thoughts. Evan's body was a wicked tease._

"_Bo -" He drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out, "Evan. Come over here." _

_Evan's jaw unhinged slightly as he stared at Chris. //H-He just called my name.// He subtly swallowed a large ball that had suddenly formed in his throat. He walked slowly towards Chris – his heart rate sped up with each step he took to lessen the distance. _

_Chris locked those brown eyes in a lethal stare that was filled with all sorts of underlining intentions. Evan hadn't noticed them, but he felt hot for some reason. The room was growing smaller, the precious air was escaping. In what seemed like fast forward, Evan's mind went completely blank, his mouth dried, his body had already started to tremble a bit, and his vision was getting blurry. All he could see was Chris. All he suddenly wanted was Chris. Noting the boy's reactions, Chris helped him onto the bed, and laid him onto his back. He drew down his pants, but Evan's eyes were too focused on his face to notice. He hovered over him and smiled deviously. Evan's eyes had gotten more dazed as he tried to stay focused on what he had really come for – the clothes. _

_A small kiss landed on the side of Evan's neck. //I don't care if he wants this or not.// Chris ran his lips over Evan's ear causing the younger man to twitch a bit and reflexively move his face away in an ineffective form of cowering. //I don't care if he has feelings for me or this really is just a friendly thing for him.// Jericho nibbled at the top of Evan's ear that was completely red. //I just want him right fucking now!//_

_Evan looked at him with longing in his eyes. In truth, his mind was working a mile a minute to keep up with everything. //Wa-wait a second! Wait a second! Wait a second! Wait a second! Wait a second!// Chris drew back only to dive down and lock Evan's lips in a deep kiss. //Oh my God! He's kissing me! What the hell do I do?!// Despite his mind being slow, his body knew what move to make. His arms wrapped around Jericho's neck and upper back, and his legs automatically shifted a bit apart. //Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! What am I doing?! What am I doing?!// Chris continued to plant small, heated kisses on his neck and eventually down his chest. //This is too fast! This is all too fast! I haven't even said anything yet damn it!// Chris slid his body onto Evan's, but was blocked by the young man's knees. He grinned sweetly at Evan's flushed face and bewildered expression._

"_Evan." He all but rolled the name off his tongue taking note of the smaller man's tense reaction. His fingers cruelly traced the length of the towel that covered Evan's thighs. "You're going to have to part your legs a bit wider if you want this to continue."_

_Evan stiffened._

"_You do want this to continue, right? " He ran his stray hand under the white cotton towel. Evan eyes sold shock as he slowly shifted both legs apart allowing Jericho's body to nestle comfortably. _

_//I can't... !// Evan stared at the older man's face that was a few inches from his. The sudden feeling of something hard touching him – and registering that it wasn't one of Jericho's hands – Evan fell into panic. //I can't do this! I can't do this! Oh God! I'm too fucking scared!//_

_Chris traced the outline of Bourne's face with a lazy index finger and watched his finger land on to Evan's lips. "Listen Evan. I'm going to do something that will feel strange at first, but both of us will enjoy fully." He rode his tongue over Evans's lips before snatching them into another mind-blowing kiss. _

_//T-This feels...so good...// His eyes flickered a bit, but he snapped himself back with his draining strength._

_Chris broke away again. //Shit! That's it! I'm at my limit already! What is it with this kid?! I'm losing my mind!// With his hands under Evan's kneecaps, he propelled the man's legs off the bed and looked down at the jewels placed before him. A satisfied smile wiped his face as he looked back at Evan – now starting to tremble with anticipation – and ducked his head to the man's stomach. Jericho ran his tongue down the length of the man's muscular torso and stopped shortly when he reached the end of the line. His shadowed eyes took one last look at Evan's face before he put his lips on the erection that stared at him._

_A near wild, yet soft groan escaped Evan's lips, causing Chris to stop and look up at him – that devilish grin still present on his face. Evan quickly covered his mouth in shock. //That was.... me?!// His eyes widened in horror as the truth hit him hard. Chris moved towards Evan's face – his body crushing the man into the bed below – and raked his expression._

"_Don't worry Evan. I won't hurt you." A sudden flashback appeared into Chris' mind. He shook it out as an afterthought caused by the heat of the moment._

_Evan moved his hands away and landed a hard stare on Jericho. //If this is happening, I've got to at least tell him how I feel.// "Chris I-"_

_Chris placed his finger on Evan's lips to silence the man. "In a situation like this, talking isn't necessary Evan."_

_Feeling himself slipping again, Evan grabbed whatever was left of his sanity and swiftly shifted Chris' finger away. "I love you Chris!"_

_Chris stopped smiling instantaneously. //What did he just say?//_

"_I have for a long time. I wanted to tell you with every passing day, but I decided that I'd wait until I made it to the top brand of the company because I know you would never take me seriously if I didn't use my own strength to get there. And I also wanted to succeed to be suitable for you in your eyes. I never wanted you to look down on me. Ever." His voice cracked, but he stifled it, "I...I really love you Chris. And I know you won't suddenly love me, but I'm willing to give you time to even consider being with me."_

_Baffled. Chris was utterly baffled. He stared at the man beneath him – who was blushing beyond repair and looking at the bed linen beside him. //I don't believe this.// A faint face suddenly mirrored over Evan's. Jericho swiftly moved away in shock. The face belonged to him –a much, much younger version. _

"_Um... are you okay?" Evan sat up, but quickly diverted his eyes once he caught a glimpse of what it was Jericho was going to put in him. //How was that going to even fit?! It's freaking huge!// His face lit up and the blushing started to burn a bit._

_//I don't believe I'm doing this!// He covered his mouth as his shaky, widened eyes looked at the floor. Two-toned replays suddenly flashed into his mind. //I was actually going to take him even though he never agreed! What's wrong with me?!// _

_Worried by Chris' facial expressions, Evan moved closer to the older man. He re-wrapped the towel around his waist, and stood ahead of Jericho. He rested his palm onto the side of Jericho's face. Chris still stared at the ground._

"_Chris, are you okay?"He cooed soothingly._

_Instantly, Evan's hand was swatted away to the left. Chris glared harshly at him with uncontrolled rage spewing from every pore. His teeth clenched tightly together as he breathed heavily. Evan – shocked out of his mind by Chris' sudden anger – sold his feelings on his face. _

"_Don't fucking call my name!"_

_Evan, still shaken, inhaled deeply, "I'm sorry. I-I just forgot -"_

"_And don't touch me!"_

_//W-What?// Evan's voice fled leaving him speechless. He stared at the man with saddened eyes. He was stunned at the sudden barrier Chris had placed on himself. "O-Okay, but -"_

_Chris scoffed and looked away, "And don't look at me with those eyes!"_

_Evan's throat clamped up as the tears fell silently. "C-C-" //That's right. I can't call his name.// His hand moved towards Jericho's shoulder, but he drew it back to his side. //And I can't touch him.// He stared at him sorrowfully, before quickly flicking his eyes to the door. //And I can't look at him.// Balls of salty tear drops dripped out of his large brown eyes. It took all his strength to remain silent. Men never cried. No matter what._

"_Get out."_

_Evan's breath hitched, but he hurriedly got dressed, grabbed his stuff and left the room. Chris had not shifted his gaze, but the sound of the door locking was clearly heard. He slowly lifted his head and took a quick look at the room. //Something's wrong with me.// Despite having lived in solitude, and having enjoyed his own company, what started as a mere brush, suddenly evolved into a dominant, long forgotten feeling. Loneliness hit Chris Jericho for the first time in years._

_***_

The night breeze washed over both men as they stared into unseen distances. The taller blond sighed heavily and gently patted the other on the back.

"You are one idiot you know that?"

Chris scoffed slightly and gave a weak smirk. "I don't want to hear that from the biggest fool of them all." He looked at Adam, "Even though you are right."

Adam laughed coarsely but soon his face fell deadpan, "Jericho, I know I shouldn't have to tell you what to do. However, the time to just leave the past where it belongs comes for everyone. Me included." He gave Chris's shoulder a firm pat, "And yours is here now."

Chris stared silently at Adam. There were a few times that Adam was so wise, and here was Jericho being witness to such a rarity. "Thanks Copeland."

Adam slapped his forehead, "Listen already! I have no problem with you calling my first name! None! So just drop the 'Edge', and this 'Copeland' and call me Adam!"

Jericho's smirk grew with his cocky air. "I'd sooner die, Edge."

"Oh you are _so_ dead! _So dead_!" He walked away, before stopping at the door. He turned slightly and raised an eyebrow to Jericho, "What are standing there for?"

"Why shouldn't I? I don't need to go back to my hotel room."

Adam shook his head and flashed his trademark grin. "You're coming with me, and taking that mute baggage with you. The night isn't over yet so the 'I-get-to-do-what-I-want-to-Jason' rule still stands! So get that ass over here, and get that luggage from my room so I can get some well needed – and long awaited - action!"

Jericho laughed softly as he walked over to Edge.

***-*-***


	6. Chapter 6

**I am not going to lie here. This is by far, THE SADDEST thing I will ever write on paper. Forgive me dear heart for putting you through so much pain.**

**Back to the story.**

***-*-***

Tears welled up in large brown eyes that eyed the wall, curtained by long, silky dark lashes protruding from heavy lids. //What am I going to do?// Another set of tears came rolling down his cheeks as he recalled what had occurred just moments ago. He still tried to resist the current state of events, but found the obvious room that – was not Chris' – he was in to be more than enough evidence to turn his beliefs upside down.

"_Don't fucking call my name!" _

//I got that already!// He whimpered in a futile effort to silence himself. //Damn it!//

"_Don't touch me!"_

//Why the hell not?!// He screamed – mentally -with the knowledge of being completely alone. //What the hell did I do that was so wrong?!// His sobbing grew louder, as the tears fell faster.

"_Don't look at me with those eyes!"_

The recollection of it all shattered the broken pieces of Evan's heart. He clutched the pillow that he had been strangling - for only who knows how long - and wept some more. //Why?// His body curled into the fetal position as his face buried into the large pillow. //Why does he hate me so much?//

A soft, faint sound rang through his ears. Bourne slowly shifted his lifeless body to the direction of the sound. It was coming from his back pocket. He reached in and pulled out his phone, and stared at the number and picture that came up. In one mind, he didn't want to talk to anyone right now, but his opposing mindset told him it was probably better to talk to someone. Especially the person calling right now. Evan hit the call button and placed the phone loosely on his ear.

"Hello." His voice was dry and hoarse.

"Hello?! Evvy! Thank God! Man where are you?!"

Evan shifted to get a lazy glance at his surroundings. He didn't care where he was. He wasn't in Chris' room anymore – that was all that mattered. "I don't -"

"Evvy! Please just look around or something! Tell me where the fuck you are!"

It suddenly occurred to Evan that he really didn't recognize the caller, but that took a back seat to his current state of affairs. //Where am I?// He slowly sat up – caressing his pounding headache. He was used to having massive headaches after crying too hard, so he tried his best to avoid it all together. //Now I've gone right back to being too damn sensitive!// Tears welled in his eyes again. //Damn it! Can I just stop crying already?!//

"Evvy?! Are you there?!"

Evan looked at the phone – surprised a bit to find it in his hand. "Uh yeah. I am." He looked about the room for a clue. "Uh hold on a minute."

He walked towards the door and opened it. His eyes shot up at the room number and he closed the door behind hm.

"Hello?"

"Evvy! Come on dude where are you?"

"I'm in room 812. I think this is on the eighth floor." //Why am I so far up? Did I take the elevator?// He rubbed his forehead with his bent fingers and stared at the ground. //I can't remember a darn thing! Where am I?!//

"Room 812? Good! We're coming up!

"Hey, wait who -"

The phone silenced. Evan looked at the screen to see the face of the one who he was talking to. //Oh. Its him.// He sat back on the bed and stared at his toes. His eyes caught the exposed seam of his T-Shirt. He scoffed a bit at his untidy dress. His T-Shirt was on backwards, his pants were unbuttoned, and he didn't have on any shoes. //They're probably back in Chris' room.//

"_Get out." _

At the venomous memory, Evan cringed and bit into his lower lip – suppressing the urge to cry again. He shook his head quickly to knock out bad thoughts and forced a smile to the door ahead. //Come on Evan. Brighten up! You knew this wasn't going to be easy. You told him your feelings. He hasn't really rejected them, so there's still something to go on there. He was just a bit overwhelmed. That's all.// The remainder of his heart suddenly ached. His head hung low.

The sound of the door knocking startled Evan. He ran to the door and quickly opened it. His poorly practiced smile was still pasted on to his face. He could feel his muscles tense with unnecessary strain as he forced the smile to stay in place. He would be darned if he was going to end up breaking down again.

"Hey Cody."

Cody – trailed by Randy – stood in the doorway. Cody burst past Evan with rage in his eyes as he scanned the room. He walked into the bathroom and came out seconds later. Randy sat on the bed and wiped his bored blue eyes over Evan. Bourne closed the door and stood looking between Cody and Randy.

"W-What brings -"

"Where the hell is he Evan?" Cody's tone was laced with heated venom.

Evan's smile quivered a bit at the sight of his friend's face contorting under the pressure of anger. "Um well... you see..." He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "We made a bet!"

Cody swallowed darkly as he glared heavily at Evan. Randy simply exhaled.

"Well, it was like, you know if I lost the game we'd have another sleepover.... ah wait.... that's not totally right..." His face beamed a smile, "It was really -"

Cody moved swiftly. Before anyone blinked, his hand had already connected to Evan's cheek as he slapped the man across his face. Randy heaved a deep breath, slumping his shoulders afterward. Evan looked at Cody in distress. Cody glared coldly at him.

"I can't believe this." His voice was low. "You. Here. Not with Jericho. I can't believe this."

Evan tried to salvage the situation. "W-Wait Cody. Before you get mad, just -"

"Just what?!" He grabbed Evan by the top of his shirt and lifted the man off the ground. He drove him into the wall, gaining a 'watch it' from Randy. "Just stand here and listen to my friend try to _lie?!"_

Evan looked down at Cody. Fear coursing through his eyes.

"Now before I really lose it, tell me where the hell Jericho is?!"

Knowing his friend for the fearless man he was – he was able to date the likes of Randy and keep the man on a short leash – and knowing that Cody would never threaten anyone without backing it up, Evan dropped the painfully fake smile. His former hopeless expression quickly replaced it.

"I told him Cody."

Cody's anger withdrew a bit.

"I told him I loved him. I told him I hid it. I told him why. But he hates me!" Despite having the strong resolve not to shed another tear, his body betrayed him cruelly. Tears fell onto Cody's hand simmering the man's anger a bit more. "I don't know what happened! We were having fun, and then I asked him for clothes because I didn't have any. And then he started kissing me, and I thought it was the best time to tell him, but he suddenly got really mad."

Cody set the smaller man down, and grabbed him into a tight hug. Randy looked on silently.

The warmth of his friend, and the overall pain finally proved too much for Evan. He broke down sobbing – a bit happy that it was his friend's chest he was hiding in instead of having them see him. He didn't want anyone to see him. Tears coming from a man were ugly.

"Evan. Tell me what happened." Cody's voice trailed in from a distance close to a mile, as he soothingly ran his hand through Evan's dark hair. "Please."

"I don't even know. He was saying some things, and I suddenly wanted him really badly. But I got too sacred! Then I told him how I felt, but he just got mad. And then he told me not to call his name, not to touch him, not to even look at him, and then to just get out!" He sobbed a bit louder, "Why does he hate me Cody?" He pried himself away from Cody's comforting arms and gave his friend a teary pleading look, "What did I do wrong?! I know I can't read people that well, so please! Tell me what I did wrong so I can fix it!"

Randy clenched his jaw and chose to look away. Cody just stared at his friend with sad eyes. The blood lust was rising to his head. Chris Jericho was going to die. Cody just ran his finger over Evan's eyes to wipe away the stray tears that threatened to fall.

"Evan." He smiled gently – it was weak, but effective as Evan quickly calmed down. "Listen. You're staying with us from now on. If not us, then Ted. No one else okay?"

Evan thought, and then nodded.

"Good." He patted the brunette and turned a sharp glare towards Randy, "Randy, I'll be carrying Evan off now. You just do what you need to."

Randy grinned a bit and nodded. "Ted's got everything set." He slapped his fist into his open palm and lazily stretched his neck from side to side, "Just leave this to me baby boy." He eyed Evan, "You just get some sleep okay? We've got training tomorrow."

Evan gave a barely there nod and was escorted outside with Cody. Randy sat back on the bed, the darkness engulfing him once the room door shut.

***-*-***

The door cracked open loudly. Two voices could be heard clearly as they streamed into the room. The first one to meet his icy stare was the man he suddenly felt utter hatred towards.

"What the hell?" Displeasure seeped into Jericho's voice.

Adam stopped short behind Jericho. He knew all too well that Randy's stare was not something you wanted to be at the other side of. It only led to very, very bad things. He opted to pacify the situation – from a distance. "Uh, Randy. Why are you in my room?"

"_Leave_ Copeland."Randy tilted his head slightly to the left. His eyes still locked on to Jericho. "Unless you want to see Jericho's death first hand."

Adam looked at Jericho – whose own evil glare had intensified after Randy's comment. //Yep. I should just leave. Not a good place Adam. This is not a good place.// "Death? No man, I think I'll just skip on that. If I'm witnessing anything, it's going to be Jason's body."

He landed a less-than-comforting pat on Jericho's shoulder. The older man did not even so much as flinch. //This is tense. Too tense.// Adam backed away slowly.

"Wait Edge."

He waited – much to his own shock.

"Where in this room is the man I came for?"

Adam gulped audibly. "Well, it appears he's not here."

Chris growled under his breath, signaling his growing impatience.

Adam was quick to take note. "You should probably ask _Randy_ here. He will definitely know." With a quick wave of his hand Adam ran off. "Bye!"

The stare down continued for a few seconds before Jericho had to turn away to shut the door behind him. He turned the lights on brighter, and resumed glaring at Randy.

"Jericho," Randy spoke in his usual gravel tone, "why I _would_ _love _to know why you've come looking for Evan after you so _politely_ threw him out, I'll leave that aside and simply ask this." He frowned a bit, "Do you have any regrets?"

A bit thrown off by Orton's question, Jericho blinked rapidly as he tried to comprehend. A cocky smirk landed on his face, "Tonnes."

Randy cracked his knuckles loudly, "I just thought I'd ask out of respect. It's nice to know that you've got a huge chip on your shoulder, because now you've made this easier. When you die by my hands I would be subsequently freeing you from _all _your troubles. Nice, aren't I?"

//Like a lion toying with live prey.// "Sorry Orton. But some demons would follow me wherever I go."

"Oh?" He slid his eyes to the spot where Evan stood – almost visualizing the younger man's anguish. "It seems your demons aren't just stopping at tormenting _you_."  
Chris snapped. "What do you want Orton?! Why the hell are you here?! Where's Evan?!"

"Evan" He slid his cold eyes back at Chris, "is far away from you. He's safe now that's for sure."

Chris' hands balled into tight fists. "All right. But I won't know that if I don't see him."

"Live with it. Because you've lost all rights to even think of that kid."

"Listen to me you bastard -"

Randy rose suddenly to his feet. He roared loudly, "No you listen to me Jericho! I am itching to just punch you through every floor leading straight down to Hell, but you wanna know what's stopping me?"

Chris glared at him. //This guy is a waste of time! Think Chris. If Randy's here then Cody must've passed through. That little prissy would have probably waltzed off with Evan right now. But where? Their hotel room? No. Randy said he's safe far away from me. That means he's elsewhere. Where? Where?//

"Evan."

Chris snapped to as his glare gave way to an instantly worried look.

Randy smirked deviously. "I honestly don't get what the kid sees in someone like you."

"Ha." Chris quickly composed himself. If he hoped to pry more information from Randy, he'd have to keep the man talking and give him the keys to control. "Someone of your poor caliber wouldn't get what men like me hold."

"Wrinkles?"

A vein burst in Jericho's head. //He's just trying to get to you. Don't let him.// "Experience. You young guys all go around flaunting your multiple sex partners by wearing them like badges. Sadly, not everyone wants to jump into a fast moving Corvette. Most times the slow paced Bentley will do just nicely."

"Preaching like an old man will just make you look worse Jericho." Randy folded his tattooed arms, "While I _could _listen to you words of wisdom crap, I don't have the time. I just wanted to know why you've taken it upon yourself to ultimately _crush_ a nice guy like Evan to the point where I had to watch him _beg_ for a way to correct a mistake he never made in the first place."

It was hard not to feel utterly shitty right now. Jericho wore his shame like a flamboyant mask. "Look, I didn't mean for things to turn out this way. I was just feeling out of sorts."

"I don't care." His tone dried instantly, "I want to know why you felt you should have done that. Your emotional state of mind doesn't concern me. You better have a damn good reason for making that kid suffer so much." Randy flexed his neck again "And if you don't, then be prepared to meet whatever had the to guts to make a scum bag like you."

Jericho sighed defeated. Defense was not in his corner right now. Offense had left to take a long break. Right now he was staring guilt right in the face. "It has nothing to do with Evan. I think the kid's really sweet, and in the short time I've known him he's sorta grown on me." He eyed the carpet. "You know, I go around and tell people that I don't give a rats' ass about them, and I even forged a faux love for the solitude they dished out. It was all good. But, for the first time I've realized the joy of actually being in the company of someone else." He scoffed slightly. "Who knew it'd be a guy thirteen years my junior who could even pass for a little kid?"

"Unless my ears betray me, you sound like you love the guy."

"_Love_?" He shook his head slowly, "Like I said Orton, some demons just don't leave. He's a great kid. For him to love someone like me, I'll give him guts, or brand him with stupidity. But if I loved someone like him -" //If I loved Evan?// " – I'd end up hurting him far worse than I have now."

Randy broke down his defenses. It was rare to see Jericho speak so solemnly, and be utterly humble. "You know, you're too harsh on yourself Jericho. Yeah you don't get along with other people, but that's just because you don't kiss ass. I only have friends because the people I hang with may as well be marked men. Strip me of them, and all you've got is a younger, better looking version of you."

Randy's cockiness was a welcome relief. Chris chuckled lightly and looked at Orton – his stare less fierce than it initially was. "Well, I guess I better get going."

"What about Evan?" Randy raised a brow for emphasis.

Chris faltered a bit but managed to crack something resembling a smile on his face. "I think it's best to just leave things as they are. The kid's better off without me. He'll soon realize that." He laughed shortly, "And besides, from what I heard he got onto RAW all by his lonesome. That's pretty impressive."

"Yeah."

Chris turned to leave, but hesitated once he touched the doorknob. Randy took note, but decided to stay silent.

"And, I'm sorry. For everything." He cracked open the door, "Just tell Evan that."

Randy stared at the older man with a deadpan expression. "Don't hold your breath."

Jericho scoffed, "Count on it."

***-*-***

**Me: "ARGH! I'M GOING TO KILL JERICHO!!!! WHY IS HE SO DAMN DUMB?!!"**

**Jericho: " Hey! Hey! Dumb? What are you talking about?"**

**Randy: "You do know you can just kill him right? You are the writer, so have him die in a freak accident or something."**

**Jericho: "Go jump off a bridge Orton! And writer-girl! Don't you dare kill me! I will come back and kill you!"**

**Randy: "Yeah. That and Evan would be in a world of hurt right now."**

**Jericho: "Y-Yeah. That too."**

**Me: "Fine! But if you don't figure your issues out soon Jericho I WILL FUCKING SLAUGHTER YOU!!!"**


	7. Chapter 7

**If you're wondering what that was in the previous chapter, let's just say my mind tends to wonder off and talk with strangers.... and that I really HATE putting poor Evvy down like this! **

**WHY ARE YOU SO MEAN JERICHO?!**

**Okay... off to take my pills (XD)... back to the story**

***-*-***

The sounds of metal hitting against one another, and strained breathing and grunts filled the room. Cody eyed his food. Randy simply stared absently ahead, looking at the people as they exercised.

"He did fucking _what?!"  
_

The people in the room stopped moving at the sound of the sudden shout but shrugged it off and resumed what they were doing. Randy slid his stare towards the towering blond. His hands were firmly planted on to the table and he was glaring daggers at both men.

"Jack, calm down." Cody spoke under his breath.

"Shut up! How the hell can I be calm?!" He glared at Randy. "And _you!"_ He darted his finger at the man, "'Mr-I'm-too-cool-for-this-place!"

Randy looked at him in confusion. Cody sighed heavily.

"_Why_ am I seeing Jericho to my left pushing weights when the only thing that _dirt shit_ should be doing is pushing daises! Get your two hundred and forty five pound ass over there and beat the lights out of him! And then beat the darkness out of him! Beat his very existence out of this world!"

The two seated brunette's sighed in unison.

//I knew this was a bad idea// Cody mulled his thoughts as he stared at Jack. //This guy's way too eccentric.//

Cody lowered his hand to the table, "All right Jack, just sit -"

"Hey guys!" A chirpy voice cut in.

All three men turned. Jack was the first to react.

"Evan!" He ran to the smaller man and hurriedly patted him down as if searching for weapons. "_Evvy_." He cooed, "Oh my gosh are you okay? I just heard! I am _killing_ that man the moment he gets in range! Just say the word Evvy and he'll be out of your life for good!"

Cody face palmed himself and Randy chuckled a bit. Evan looked at all three men before smiling at Jack, "Don't worry Jackie. It was only a scratch."

"Huh?" Jack sold confusion. //A scratch? Maybe that's code for what he's feeling about Jericho dumping him. I'll just play along.// "Oh. So does it hurt?"

"Of course it hurts." Evan laughed a little. "After the doctors looked me over I felt a little better."

//Doctors?// Jack glanced at Cody and Randy. //Oh! 'Doctors' meaning 'friends'.// He looked at Evan with a sad expression. //The poor guy can't even say anything. He's so torn up.// "Evvy, just know that I will always be here for you okay? No matter what. And if that idiot comes around to hurt you, just tell me. I'll do what Randy should have done in the first place."

Evan's expression was blank – with a hint of subtle confusion. But it was a generally blank expression. //Why is he talking about Randy?//

He smiled a bit, "Well, I don't think Primo is going to _actually _come back and try to hurt me or anything."

Cody and Jack looked at him in shock. "P-Primo? Why is _Primo_ a part of this conversation."

Evan nudged his friend playfully, "That's a silly question Jackie. Primo and I fought recently. He tried to suplex me, but I ended up getting my head busted. So the doctors looked at me and told me I was fine."

//He was talking about an actual event?! The hell?!// Jack curbed his anger. "Well, how about you come join us for breakfast?"

"Sure."

Evan took the remaining seat and smiled at his friends. The smile faded instantly as his eyes caught a figure walking through the gym area. Cody trailed the man's line of sight and scowled heavily before turning away.

"Randy." His tone was dry and coated in venom.

Randy flicked his eyes to Cody, "Yeah?"

"Sit in front of Evan."

"Sure thing." He moved his chair and plopped ahead of Evan – blocking he younger man's view.

Evan blinked a bit once Randy sat ahead of him. He sighed inwardly and stared absently at the table below. Everyone held their breaths as they silently watched Evan. It was a given, to everyone, that there were never going to be enough words that could be said that would be able to heal the wound that had been dealt to Bourne's heart. The same could be said for any action that would have been taken. It hurt his friends to see the usually happy-go-lucky man seem utterly broken.

Unable to take it anymore, Jack decided to speak up, "Evvy?" His tone was cautious.

Evan looked up at him. He wore a frail smile on his face in a failed attempt to seem happy. "Hmm?"

Jack looked at Cody – who was giving Evan a look of pity – and then slid his eyes back to Evan. "I'm so sorry Evan. I was off with John when this happened, but I promise you man I will never, ever leave you out on your own again, so you can count on me okay."

Evan gave a small chuckle, "You shouldn't be too hard on yourself Jackie. You couldn't help even if you tried."All three men gaped at him. "It would be against the rules, and besides, Primo already apologized a zillion times."

All three men jumped to their feet and glared down angrily at Evan, "Why are you talking about _Primo?!_"

Taken aback by his friends sudden reaction, Evan flew back in his chair away from them, "Uh..why not? I-Isn't this about the s-scratch he gave me?"

//He's so dense it's almost unreal!// They all shook their heads slowly at the shared thought. Randy looked over his shoulder, gave a small smirk, and stared at Cody with a deadpan expression.

"Cody."

Cody sat down – followed by Jack - and looked up at Randy, "Yeah?"

Ice blues flashed a hint of something ominous as they looked at the younger man, "You want anything from the vending machine?"

Unsure of what had been present in his lover's eyes, but certain it couldn't be too bad, Cody smiled gently, "I think I'm good." He looked over to Evan, cautiously choosing his tone of voice – trying desperately not to let slip concern, "You want anything Evvy?"

Evan beamed him a childish smile, "I'll take a pack of Skittles please!"

Obvious relief washed over the three men at the return of the Evan they were used to. Randy nodded and walked away.

***-*-***

John Cena wasn't who he was expecting to see waiting around the corner. The trainer had told him someone was waiting for him in the lobby area, and he halfheartedly hoped it might have been that little high flier. Seeing the smoldering blue eyes of the ex-Army man was unwanted and unpleasant.

A small smirk cracked his face, "_Cena._ What brings you by?"

John looked at the older man – fire blazing forward from his entire being. "Cut the bull shit Jericho you know damn well why I'm here." He folded his heavy arms across his chest, "Now before I beat the living hell out of you, I just have to ask. Why?"

Chris' tone dried, "What are you talking about Cena?"

John walked up to the man stopping once the distance got cut to a few centimeters. "I don't normally give a shit what hole you decide to go dig for yourself, and aside from Jack, I've never really cared who it was you decided to drag down with you. However," He spat his words viciously, "what you did to Bourne was downright cruel, and there is no way I'm going to just stand by and watch you not suffer any consequences."

//Great. Now Cena's on my hide!// "Listen to me Cena. I didn't do anything – not one damn thing – to that boy. He left my room alive, unhurt and _un_-penetrated. I will apologize for hurting his feelings, but rest assured his emotional distraught will vanish in a week or two. Hell it might even leave right now once he finds himself someone else to attach those feelings to." He stepped closer to John, "And don't you _dare_ talk to me about cruel. Need I remind you that it was _you_ who pushed Swagger away, and into my arms because your pride just wouldn't let it go."

Jericho instantly found himself on the floor with his jaw chipped and in pain. He rubbed it soothingly, glared up at the man responsible, and shot to his feet with claws and teeth bared for a counterattack. The sound of a soda can cracking open and the fizzing that later followed, stopped both men mid-way. In unison, they turned around to see who it was.

"_Cena,_ beating this scum bag will do nothing for you." Cold blue eyes shifted to Jericho, "And you, stop patronizing the man when he's already mad enough. I may have been able to step aside and leave you without a single scratch, but mark my words; John here will not be as courteous."

Cena lifted his palms mid-air and slowly stepped away. "All right. I concede." He threw his finger towards Jericho and growled loudly, "But you better not even _breathe _around Evan or Jack, or else I guarantee the next time you _won't_ be able to get back up."

With the threat issued, John walked away - still fuming over having to back down. Jericho scoffed under his breath at the retreating man before paying his full attention to the man downing a can of soda beside him.

"Drinking that isn't healthy Orton. You of all people should know that."

Randy finished the can in one go and crushed it with one hand. "Oh shut it Jericho." He threw the crumpled can towards the open bin landing an expert shot as it went in. He looked at Chris with fierce eyes, "And where do you get off defending your actions? The only thing you should be doing is apologizing at least a million times to Evan. You branded that kid with your stupid actions, so you better get a move on with trying to fix it."

"That's enough!" Jericho roared and glared harshly at the man – his shout startling Orton a bit, and drawing suspicious eyes towards the two men //I've fucking had it!// "You think you are all better than me acting so damn high and mighty?! Cena treated Swagger like _shit _after the kid confessed to him, and all I saw you – or _anyone_ for that matter – do was give him a pat on the shoulder and some fucking friendly advice! And _you_!" Despite not needing to, Jericho pointed right at Orton for emphasis, "Who was it, I wonder, who _fucked_ a girl right in front of the kid who liked him just so that said kid would forget about him?! Huh?! You did! And what happened to you? Did you apologize a million times?! No! You just waltzed over to him, grabbed him by the waist, mumbled a sorry excuse for an apology and _fucked _him that same night! So if you all want to try and act like you're all better than me then come to me with a fucking clean slate, because your track records are worse than mine!"

Randy stared wide-eyed at Jericho, who was breathing with more effort than necessary. In all his life, Chris Jericho had never lost his composure. On TV he would often be scripted to act as though he did, but had trouble making it look anything close to real. He was the one man many knew who could hold his cool in any given situation – no matter how bad they would be. To see that same Chris Jericho shouting at the top of his lungs, and venting frustration in the most raw manner possible, would surprise anyone who knew the man otherwise. Randy was no exception. It had taken him a few long seconds to first get over the fact that Chris Jericho had blown up on him, and then to finally blink (after momentarily forgetting the moves needed to do such an act). Speaking was the last thing to follow.

"Jericho." He paused, re-thought, re-worded, and then continued. His voice was low and calm. "Listen -"

Jericho intervened. "I can't Orton." He hung his head a bit, "I can't go over there and just apologize to the kid and then accept his feelings. If I did that I would be lying, and believe me, that would be even _worse_ than what I've already done. No one wants to be loved out of pity. " He looked up at Randy with weary blue eyes. "Fairy tales don't happen for someone like me, Orton, and for Evan I'm no Prince Charming. If that's who he's looking for then he'll find it in someone else."

Randy snorted a bit, "You think he's looking for some _prince?_" He placed his hands casually on the start of his pants. "Jericho, the kid knows you're not perfect. He may not know _how_ imperfect you are, but he knows you're just that. And believe me, he's more than willing to take on someone like you." He sighed loudly and then rested a strong hand on Chris' shoulder, "And let me give _you_ some friendly advice," He grinned slightly, "leave the past where it belongs." He rigidly patted the older man's shoulder before walking off.

Jericho inhaled loudly, and slowly let the air out. He stared absently at the vending machine ahead of him, and smiled a bit at the sudden wave of calm that brushed over him. His eyes drew to the floor to catch a view of the small package that lay ahead of him. Curious, he walked over to it and picked it up. With a soft laugh, he slowly shook his head as he eyed the package. //That snake. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother trying.// He turned around and headed back to the gym.

***-*-***

The three men bubbled about with light, funny conversation. Jack was enthralling his two friends with the happenings of his recent trip with John Cena. Cody – absolutely jealous of him – tried to pretend that none of the excitement meant anything to him. Evan on the other hand was smiling from ear to ear as he listened to Swagger's tales with glee. Some parts of the story made both Cody and Evan shy away a bit – more Evan than Cody –and blush within an inch of their lives. In the end, both members of Jack's audience soon found out that the John Cena they knew _paled_ in comparison to the John Cena Jack Swagger was with – despite it being the same man.

"Is this table open for one more?"

All three men looked up. The smiles that were pasted on their faces sunk slowly to morph into gawks as they looked at the man hovering above them. He threw a cocky smile at the expressions his presence suddenly garnered. He pulled out the chair ahead of Bourne – staring at him with a piercing gaze – and tipped his head a bit down to the left before taking a seat.

"I'll take that as a yes."

***-*-***

//I must be out of my mind following Orton.// Jericho stared at the package in his hand as he walked past the row of treadmills. //This is dumb. It'll never work.// He looked ahead at the dining area. //Well, it can't hurt to try. God knows there's no other way to talk to him.// With his heart in his hand – figuratively – Jericho trudged forward. He scanned the large room with narrowed eyes that got narrower each time his baby blues landed on a dark haired, small man. Eventually he located his target, and causally walked over to the table around which he was seated, stopping short once he looked at the people who were sitting with him.

Tea greens looked directly at him from over the boy's shoulder. Jericho froze in his steps. His mind blanked, and his heart stopped. His breathing had fled shortly afterward. Cody looked up to see Jericho standing a few steps behind Evan with a paled expression filled with fear stamped on his face. The man looked terrified. Jack was the last to look up and spot Jericho. His brow creased downwards instantly upon spotting the man.

"You son of a bitch!"

Evan looked over at Jack, "What are you -"

Jack quickly stood to his feet and marched over to Jericho. Evan's dark brown eyes followed the man only to widen upon spotting the reason for Jack's anger. A slight red tinge colored Evan's face instantly.

Jack continued to frown. Jericho showed no signs of acknowledging the man's presence. "Hey! Don't fucking ignore me Jericho!" He stood directly in front of the man – glaring at him with scorching eyes, "Listen to me you -"

With one push of his hands, Jack was removed from Jericho's line of sight. Evan continued to stare at Chris – a little shocked to see him suddenly standing there, and also a bit frightened at the man's sudden dark mood. If one could look beyond the naked eye, they would have most likely been able to spot the large, thick dark aura that encompassed Chris Jericho. Despite having witnessed their friend being literally shoved to the other side of the room, neither Cody nor Evan made any movements towards Jack. Eventually, Cody rose and walked over to Swagger – purposely avoiding Jericho's being all together. He seized the man upon reaching him and forcibly held him back.

"C-Chr-" //Oh wait! I can't call him that.// "J-Jericho, why are you -" Evan's eyes spotted the package being crushed by Jericho's hand. A large smile graced his face as he looked up at Jericho's frozen face that got closer as the man walked to the table. "Are those Skittles? D-Did you get them -"

Finally registering his surroundings, Chris tore his eyes off the blond at the table and shot a cold stare at Evan. "These are for you. Orton left them behind on purpose." In true robotic fashion, he threw the candy at Evan who barely managed to catch it.

Evan looked at the package and sighed. His expression saddened. //What was I expecting?// "T-Thank you."

Evan's depressing mood did not register in Chris' mind as he threw a harsh glare at the calm tea greens that stared knowingly at him. It pissed him off. //Why the hell is he here?// He grit his teeth audibly.

"_You._ What the hell are you doing here?" Evan looked over his shoulder at the older blond sitting ahead of him. "Shouldn't you be at home with Rebecca?"

"I see your manners haven't changed at all Chris."

Chris scowled, "Don't fucking -"

The older blond raised his palms defensively, cutting Chris' response short. His sly smile still present on his face. Frankly, it was beginning to freak Evan out. "I know. I know. I'm sorry. What would you prefer me call you? Hmm?" He slid back in his chair, "I wouldn't want to further insult a prestigious man like yourself."

Chris snarled, "Shut up Micheals!" His glare intensified. //Calm down Chris! Calm down!// His mental chants went for naught. "I asked you a fucking question! Answer me! Why the hell are you here?"

Shawn interlocked his fingers and rested both hands causally on his lap. His eerily calm expression had not shifted at all despite Jericho's rage. "Is that anyway to greet an old friend?"

"You are not my fucking friend." The air cutting tension that seeped into Jericho's words made Evan suddenly very afraid of the man.

"Well, if you _must_ know, Vince called me."

He looked at Evan with a gentle gaze, causing the younger man to blush a bit at the sudden attention he was being given. Jericho followed the man's eyes unhappy to find where he landed, and glared at back at Miacheals' once more.

Micheals chose to ignore him by flicking his eyes to his fingers as if they had suddenly become very interesting. "The Undertaker has no one to challenge his streak this coming WrestleMaina. Randy is currently feuding with Hunter – and from what I've heard Vince's making quite a large sum from the feud. Batista isn't worth anyone's time really, plus he's still on the shelf anyways. The Hardy's are having their annual lover's spat, Cena's tangled with Copeland, and" His eyes shot back to Chris with a deathly cruel tone underlining his stare, "_you_ are currently fighting the little Rey Mysterio and have now gone and picked a fight with the veterans. So that left only me. I was the only sure fire choice and really the only one fit to take on the dead man on the grandest stage of them all. I alone put out five star matches, and having me go up for Mark's streak is really befitting of someone like me."

Jericho ground his teeth to mere mush as his face contorted with anger. Every blood vessel in his body was pumping liquid rage. Evan cowered further at the sight. //Calm down Chris. He's just trying to get to you. Just leave the past where it belongs.// "So Vince called his dog back and like a good puppy you wagged that short tail and happily came over. So you're fighting Taker. So what? After that match you'll be out of WWE once more, just sitting at the doorstep waiting for your master to call you once again." He smirked deviously, "You can try to sell yourself as some sort of almighty piece of awesome, but you're nothing more than the bitch Vince has at his every beck and call." His smirk dropped to give way to a more serious tone, "Now get out. Three's a crowd, Micheals, and I'm sure you can hear Vince calling you. Don't make your master wait. You might get the boot – for _good_ this time."

Shawn's eyes twitched a bit at the comment, but nothing more gave way to his inner annoyance. He looked at Evan, and smiled gently. "Well Evan -"

Jericho quickly bent down beside the younger man and knocked the table with a hard fist. The sudden act startled Evan who ended up jolting in his seat. He looked up worryingly at Chris. //Something's wrong.// His dark brown eyes shifted slightly to Micheals – who was now looking at Chris with a vindictive smirk on his face. //Is it because Shawn came here?// His eyes shifted back to Chris who was glaring daggers at Shawn. //Why would he be mad at Shawn?//

Shawn stood up pointedly and smiled sweetly at Evan, "It was really nice to meet you. I'm glad you've gotten yourself on to RAW, and don't you worry. I'll be more than happy to help you with whatever it is you need." He shot a stare at Chris – happy to find the blond's face burning with obvious rage.

He grabbed his jacket that hung on the back of the chair, and put his trademark cowboy hat on. He slowly walked towards Evan, stopping once he was standing right beside the smaller man. He leaned down with his hand resting on the man's shoulder. Evan looked at him. Chris was still scowling ahead. Shawn smirked. His tea greens staring dead on at Jericho's side profile from beneath the straw brim of his tan hat.

"I'll see you soon." He dropped his eyes to meet Evan's stare. "Bye bye now."

"B-Bye." Evan stuttered on the word. "It was nice meeting you Shawn."

The older blond left. His trademark swagger locked Evan in a hypnotic gaze as he watched the man until he was fully out of sight.//Such a nice guy.// A cold chill ran down his spine almost instantly. He turned to find Chris glaring harshly at him.

"I-Is something wrong Jericho?"

Chris' frown craved deeper into his face "_Shawn?_ You call him Shawn." He struggled to resist the urge to shake his head for emphasis. "So you guys are now friends I presume? That's great."

Evan frowned a bit at the obvious sarcastic tone laced in Chris' voice. "Yeah I call him Shawn. That's his name. Not everyone has a problem being called by their first name." He stood to his feet. "Thank you for the Skittles. Goodbye Jericho."

" Don't - !"Chris grabbed the man's retreating arm with force. His head was hung low by the time Evan looked at him. //What am I saying? Don't call my name? Don't leave? Why am I stopping him?// "I'm very sorry for the other day. I was harsh, and I hurt you." He looked up at the younger man – saddened to find him blankly staring back. "But, I wanted you to know that I do appreciate your feelings, but I can't acc-"

"Just stop it!" Evan yanked his arm out of Jericho's grip, cutting the man's sentence. He turned away – silently cursing the tears that started to fill in his eyes. "And leave me alone. Please."

Chris watched in silence as Evan quickly walked away. He watched in well-hidden anguish as the younger man ran into the open arms of his two friends and left the room all together. It took him a while to realize his hand was still outstretched where Evan had been standing. He closed his eyes slowly, inhaled, and then re-opened them. His hand had not moved. //This is for the best. I've apologized, and he obviously wants nothing to do with me, so this is a good thing. Everything is going back to the way it was. He'll move on, and be fine.// His hand balled into a fist as he desperately fought the urge to punch hole through the table. He straightened his body and looked at the chair ahead of him. //He'll leave the past where it belongs.//

***-*-***

**Me: "Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! How does that feel Jericho?! Huh?!Like that taste of your own medicine?!"**

**Jericho: *curled into a ball weeping***

**Randy: *sucking on some lollipop he found in the house.* "Why didn't you just beat the lights out of Micheals, Jericho? Aren't you mad at him?"**

**Jericho: "Shut up! I want to beat him down, but not now."**

**Randy: "Whatever. Oh and you did realize that HBK is hitting on Evan right?"**

**Jericho: "Of course I did! But what was I supposed to do?! Huh?!"**

**Randy: *shrugs* "Well if it were me, and HBK was hitting on Cody, I'd just tell HBK to retract his claws, and then kiss Cody and probably have sex with him right there to get the point across."**

**Jericho: "You sicko!" *turns to me* "And you! Fix this! Evan should NOT hate me!"**

**Me: *pouting and mumbling* "Who's fault is that anyways?"**

**Jericho: *strangling me to death.* "Get that boy back to me and kick HBK out of my life before I kill you!"**

**Randy: "Stop it Jericho. If she dies the story won't go on, and it'll just stop here forever."**

**Jericho: *releases me* "Oh yeah. But fix this writer-girl!"**

**Me: *coughing and gasping for air* "All right! But you have man up Jericho! If you don't HBK sure as heck will!"**


	8. Chapter 8

**Quick note here: Time in this story goes by VERY quickly. Right now - all chapters combined - we've gone through a good month. Yes. 30 days have passed you by already. lol **

**Okay.... back to the story.  
**

*-*-*

RAW came to a close with Evan having done nothing major. He had worked extremely hard to get on the show, and was very content with not having much to do. As much as that thought surprised a lot of people, Evan Bourne had really come up the ladder because of one man: Chris Jericho. His main intention was to get on SmackDown, but Vince felt it better that the man was placed on his flagship show, and no one argues with the boss.

The locker room was empty by the time he got there. His boot laces tangled a bit as he struggled to untie them. He yanked at the laces, finally giving up when the knot tightened instead of loosened. He sighed heavily and sat down on the bench with his bare back pressed against the locker, and looked up at the ceiling to vent his thoughts.

//What am I going to do?// The lights blared into his eyes forcing him to squint, //It's obvious that he doesn't see me as anything more than a human being, but how can I even hope to change that when I can't even touch him?// He sighed again, but slapped his cheeks with both hands and looked straight ahead with a flash of determination shooting across his eyes, //I can't give up! Remember as long as you keep thinking positive, good things will happen. I can't give up now!//

The door swung open, startling Evan and bringing him from his thoughts, and into reality. His dark brown eyes that had gotten wider with surprise went back to their normal shape after seeing who it was that had entered the room. He smiled brightly at the man in the door way.

"Hey Shawn."

Shawn smiled at the younger man before kicking off the wall and sauntering towards Evan. The door shut behind him. "Hey Evan. What's up?" He took a seat beside the young man and gazed at him. "You look down."

"I'm okay." Evan looked away and focused on the tiles below his feet, "Just thinking you know."

"About Chris?" Evan's heart skipped two beats and his shock-filled face gave the answer Shawn needed. Shawn's smile curled a bit at the ends, "You're wondering how I know?"

Evan looked pleadingly at the older man – begging him telepathically not to gossip on the topic. Shawn simply nodded and looked ahead in thought.

"A while back, probably before you even thought of wrestling, Chris and I were an item."

"An item?" Evan thought a bit, but gave up when he came up empty. "What does that mean?"

Shawn glanced at him, chuckled softly, and then resumed looking ahead. "You're real funny you know that." He sighed a bit, "Chris and I used to be in a relationship." His kind tea greens slid over to Evan in an Orton-like fashion, "A _sexual_ relationship."

Evan's breath hitched. //W-What? C-Chris and Shawn?!// "W-What happened?"

Shawn gave another dark chuckle, "I don't really know. I think the best term would be that we 'fell out of love'. I can't blame Chris though. The guy was young and fresh, and hungry. Probably more than Hunter. Being with me got a bit too frustrating for the guy, so we parted ways." He looked at Evan, "Not on good terms though."

Dark brown orbs dropped solemnly to stare at the floor. "That's really sad. I didn't know Chris had a boyfriend – I mean if you leave out the guys he slept with because they wanted their careers to take off, and the few who really loved him – but I can't believe he was _with_ you." //How the hell do I compete with the likes of Shawn Micheals?//

Shawn planted a firm grip onto the back of Evan's neck and forcibly dragged the younger man's head onto his shoulder. Evan looked up at him – a bit uneasily. Shawn shot him a dangerously playful smile.

"Well all that's ancient history. As you witnessed a few days back, we no longer hold any of those feelings for each other. Only animosity." He laughed dryly at Evan's bewildered expression, "Lighten up kid! I'm not going to eat you. By the way, who are you riding with?"

Evan creased his brows a little, "Um... I think Randy's giving me a drive today. Or Ted."

"How about I give you a lift? I'm willing to wait till you get ready."

A wide smile grew on Evan's face as his eyes lit up instantly. //S-Shawn Micheals is offering me a ride?// "I would love to, but..." His expression saddened as his tone died down. "Cody and Randy made me promise not to go with anyone else but them and Ted, and Cena." The hurt puppy look sat on Evan's face, "I'm really, really sorry! If it wasn't for that, I would definitely go with you!"

Shawn's smile cruelly morphed into a sly grin. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind. It sounds to me like everyone, except Chris, is okay." His index finger stroked the back of Evan's neck soothingly.

Evan chewed his lower lip in thought. "Um...I don't know..."

Shawn leaned in closer towards the younger man – his penetrating stare darting right into Evan's large eyes. Evan blushed hard. "I'll take full responsibility for any consequence. If Randy really doesn't like me driving you anywhere, then you just inform him that I'm all ears for his complaints." His smile returned almost instantly, "Okay, Evan?" The name rolled off his tongue laden with lust.

Evan's eyes flickered a bit at the overwhelming appeal the man had bearing down on him. //W-Why is it...so hot...in here?// His breathing got heavier by the second as he gazed drunkenly into the older man's eyes. //I-It's like that time...with Chris...// Shawn raked the man's flushed face over with his eerily calm eyes. His hand had not loosened its' hold on Evan, and he simply drew the man closer towards his face. Noting his compliance to the sudden movement, Evan tried to draw back. Shawn Micheals was getting too close. //M-My body won't....// By the time he registered what was going on, Micheals face was now a mere millimeters away from his.

"U-Um...S-Shawn..."

Shawn placed a crooked finger over Evan's lips – silencing the man mid-sentence. He wiped the tip of his finger over both of Evan's lips, working from the bottom up. His hand withdrew momentarily, only to come back under Bourne's chin and steady the man's head.

"I can see why he likes you." His voice was downed to a mere whisper. "It's not easy to find a virgin as beautiful as you. And it's even harder to find one who's been saving themselves solely for you." He smirked deviously, "I'm guessing he's gotten a kiss from these warm lips. But being the coward he is, he stopped when the heat rose."

//W-What is he...talking...// Evan swallowed thickly. His body refused to move. His eyes couldn't break the stare that Micheals held them in. Somehow his strength was draining away quickly. He trembled a bit as fear slowly ate at him.

Shawn ran his mouth over the outline of Evan's ear, smiling cruelly when the man flinched a bit to the feel. "You know," His husky voice etched into Evan's listening ear, "I happen to love guys like you. Everything about you screams 'I want to be taken'."

Evan's voice stretched a bit, but nothing came out of his open mouth. Shawn looked on at Evan's face, slowly shook his head and grinned at the younger man's failed efforts at resistance. In the sickest way known, it pleased him to see Evan struggling.

"But you want Chris to be the one to take you don't you?"

//C-Chris?// Unsure of why the name was said but liked that it was said anyways, Evan nodded his head.

"I knew it." His facial features darkened as though a shadow had been cast over them, "But, I _don't _want Chris to take you. _I_ want to take you. So, Evan, give up on Chris. For me." Shawn moved his face closer to Evan's.

Evan stared at the man. //Chris? Oh yeah. I have to figure out how to make him like me.// His eyes widened as the request Shawn had made trickled in to his cerebrum. Shawn's incoming face took a while to register, but once it did, Evan – thankful to whatever forces compelled him – broke away and stood quickly to his feet. Shawn looked up at the man – surprised at his sudden action - but hid it well behind a placid mask.

"What's wrong Evan?" The question had an underlined teasing tone attached to it.

Evan glared down at the older man, but soon his expression softened, "I-I'm sorry. I think I'll just -"

"Evan!" A roar entered the room, followed by the loud bang of the door as it swung open.

Shawn threw his eyes to the origin of the sudden interference, and Evan looked up in shock.

"R-Randy?"

Randy stormed into the room, his piercing blue eyes locked on Shawn. "What the hell is going on here?" His calm tone of voice betrayed his fuming anger. He stood in front of Evan, blocking the younger man from the on looking deadly tea greens. "Your answer better be good Micheals."

Shawn chuckled a bit, "It's just as it seems Randy. I'm trying to make a move on Evan. There's no law against that."

Randy all but glared harshly at the man, "Evan belongs to Chris. Keep those filthy paws, and ideas away from him."

Shawn let out a cruel laugh, "Evan belongs to Chris? You're obviously blind. The guy wants nothing to do with him. _Nothing._ He's too afraid to make a move. So I'm just here doing what he will never, ever do." He smiled playfully, "And that is love Evan."

Evan cringed a bit at Shawn's statement, but opted to stay silent. Randy gritted his teeth as he forced himself to stay calm. "You're a married man Shawn."

The usual kind twinkle in his tea green eyes died with his happy tone. "That only goes as far as my employment with the WWE. As long as I work here, I have no wife."

Randy opened his mouth to retaliate, but Evan pushed him aside and stared at Shawn with shock written all over his face.

"You have a_ wife?!_"

"Part time." His playful smile and calm demeanor returned like clockwork. "I love you Evan, so please be with me."

Evan caught his breath at the ease at which Shawn countered. "I-I can't believe you." His eyes shook a bit as he processed the situation. "Y-You want me to -"

"Be with me." His tone grew more serious. "Nothing is stopping you Evan."

"Stop messing with the kid Micheals." Randy eased back to his original position, and took a quick second to look at Evan – annoyed to find the smaller man lost in thought. He lifted his chin upwards and slid his cold eyes down towards Shawn. A small smirk graced his hard expression, "This bull shit you're pulling out of your ass probably would have worked on any other young guy. But as I said before, Evan belongs to Chris."

Shawn laughed shortly, "And as I said, you're obviously -"

"You're blind Shawn." Randy's sharp tongue quickly cut into the older man's sentence. "You were blind then, and you're sure as hell blind now. Back then you couldn't even see the hold you had on Chris, and you sure aren't seeing the hold Chris has on Evan." He flexed his neck a bit, "I want to make one thing perfectly clear Shawn. If you come near Evan again, unlike so many others, I will not stop with only breaking your back. I'll rip off your skin and _make_ you watch me wear it."

"That's way too animalistic Orton. And for a kid who doesn't even belong to you."

"Animalistic? No. I told you. I'll _make_ you watch me wear your own skin. That's called premeditation." His grin widened. "And while this kid doesn't belong to me, he belongs to a guy I owe my life to. And if he didn't, it's just because scum like you paw after him why I'll gladly take up the role to protect his hide."

A brief, silent stare down ensued between both men – one challenging the other to just make any sudden move. Knowing that Orton was famous for intimidation and carrying out threats to the letter, Shawn decided to bow out after sensing that his back was against a wall now. He quickly stood up and walked out of the locker room without saying a single word. Randy watched him leave with the same intensity in his eyes that a hawk would have when watching its' prey. Once Micheals left Orton's radar, he focused his attention to the man behind him.

"Evan -" He stopped short and stared at the smaller man. "A-Are you okay?" He knelt down and tried to get a look at Evan's face – that was being shielded by the younger man's hands. "Hey. Did he do anything to you?" Concern laced into Orton's tone, "Look at me Evan! Did that bastard -"

"Is that true?" His voice was merely a whimper. "Is what you said, true?"

//What I said?// Obviously taken aback, Orton stayed silent for a moment. "What are you talking about Evan?"

A small sob escaped Bourne, alerting Randy to the reason why the smaller man was stooping, with his knees stitched together and his face buried into his palms and arms. "Evan b-belongs to Chris? Was that true?" He stifled another sob, "S-Shawn told me t-that he could see why Chris liked me. And then you said that I belonged to him. I-Is that really true Randy?"

Randy sighed with relief and smiled gently even though Evan couldn't see. "Yeah. That's the truth Evan. And don't you ever forget it."

***-*-***

Anger spewed from each and every pore of his being. The locker room was empty – no surprise there – but this time, everyone left because the humongous dark aura that surrounded Chris Jericho had suddenly doubled in size and was almost visible to the naked eyed. The man sat on the bench, still clad in his ring gear, and glared at the floor ahead.

//That son of a bitch!// For the past few hours, Chris had not been able to close his eyes for a second without the thought of a smug Shawn Micheals invading his mind. //And now he has his eyes locked on Evan! That sick bastard! As if I'd let him touch the kid!// He stopped glaring after his last thought and simply gaped slightly at the shock of it all. //W-Well, it's not as if I own Evan right? So technically...// A cruel flashback from his blotchy past entered his mind and left just as quickly. His anger returned instantly. //Technically my ass! If it were some other guy who had the hots for the kid, I'd be happy to bow out, but Micheals?! Over my dead, rotten, corpse! If he lays one finger on Evan I will personally package his hide to Hell! //

"Jericho."

At the sound of his name, Chris immediately looked up at the door. "Oh. It's you Mysterio. What do you want?"

Rey walked into the room and sat down beside Chris. He looked up at the man with observant eyes. "You know, I've always wondered what a tortured soul looks like, and now I know."

//Huh?// Chris felt his skin crawl. "You have a sick mind you know that."

"It was a joke Jericho." Rey smiled softly, "But it is the truth."

//That makes no damn sense!// Chris leaned back onto the lockers lining the wall behind him. The sudden cold feeling jolted him a bit, "So, what do you want? Shouldn't you be with Batista right now?"

"Well, I should be, but I'm not ready to go yet." He dropped his eyes slightly downwards, "I saw Shawn yesterday at the gym. Mark told me they're fighting at WrestleMainia, so he'll be around for a bit. I was a bit disgusted with the idea of having Micheals back here, but at least he's over on RAW right?"

Jericho's long forgotten anger came back with full speed, "No it's not _alright_ that that _creep_ is on RAW! Do you have any idea who _exactly_ is on that show?!"

Rey looked at him curiously.

"It's a young, small guy who, when compared to you, may as well be a little boy!" Chris' eyes lit up with rage, "And that guy is the most oblivious, and dense person on planet Earth! He doesn't understand anything! And knowing Micheals, he'll soon realize that and use it to his advantage!"

"Who are we talking about?"

"Evan Bourne you fucking idiot!" Jericho had to draw in long deep breaths to calm him self down. "Even though Orton's over there, the guy can't be in ten places at once. He's got to keep his eyes on Cody, and on his career. Evan basically has no one to watch his back every second. Micheals...he'll swoop in and take that kid. With _force_ if he has to!" His blue eyes dropped to the ground. "I can't let history repeat itself. Micheals has too many people under his belt. Me included. I won't let a nice guy like Evan fall for that false facade Micheals has going on."

"This is a first."

Chris slid his eyes towards Rey. "What is?"

"You are actually calling someone by their first name. And you're not even sleeping with Bourne."Rey gave Jericho a sweet smile, "It sounds to me that you like this Bourne guy very much."

"I don't like him that way."

"You suck at lying Jericho." Rey scoffed, "I can say from experience that you really are into this kid. But knowing you, you're just going to act as if his feelings aren't there even while you're off protecting him. If that's the case, he's better off with Micheals."

Jericho glared down at the smaller man, "What the hell?! You don' t even know -"

"I'm also under his belt Jericho."

Chris swallowed hard. "O-Oh. S-So how exactly are you with Batista?"

"It's easy Jericho. I let it go. Sure Shawn trampled me into a sticky mud hole, but Dave took his time and worked around my defenses, found the weak spot, and broke down all the barriers I had set up against him." He smiled at Chris. "Do you know what that weak spot was?"

"Good sex?" Chris chuckled. "No I don't know."

"I had set the barrier up against guys like him. All he had to do was change just one aspect of himself, catch me by surprise, and that was it."

Chris stared at the smaller man. His eyes curtained by heavy lids as he mulled over what was being said. Rey stared at him in reverend silence, before patting the man gently on his knee and getting up to leave.

"W-Wait a second Mysterio."

Rey stopped, and half-turned to face Jericho.

"What exactly did Batista change?"

Rey stared silently at the older man before finally answering, "He stopped smiling."

The smaller man left the locker room shortly afterward. Chris stared at the floor ahead locked deep in thought. //Is it really that easy? All I have to do is wait for Evan to find my weak spot and we'll all be happy together?// He bent his knuckles under his chin and frowned a bit at the tiles. //Will my past simply vanish after that?//

It was a long shot for Chris Jericho. After going through countless years by simply being the one on the receiving end, he thought a bit about what it would be like to be the one who was giving. If he intended to wait on Evan to change, the chances of Shawn moving in would be closer to extremely high, but if he stepped up to the plate and moved in on Evan, then the threat of Shawn would be nullified. A slight tinge of hate rang through Jericho's being as he realized the obvious truth – no matter which way he took, it would all conclude with him loving Evan out of pity, or worse, as a means to get back at Shawn. With that in mind, Chris stood up and headed for the shower. His track record of five seconds was tied once again.

***-*-***

**Me: "THAT IS IT!!!!!" *grabs rope and chokes Jericho* "YOU ARE DEAD! DEAD! WHY DID YOU ALLOW SHAWN MICHEALS TO GET WITHIN BREATHING RANGE OF EVAN?!"**

**Randy: *sipping coffee now* "Well at least I got in there right?"**

**Me: "Yes. Yes that's right."**

**Randy: "I think Jericho's dying."**

**Me: *glaring at him* "That's the intention." **


	9. Chapter 9

**I must let you all know... it felt DAMN GOOD to write this. Lol Take that Micheals! But yeah.... not too keen on this chapter. I wrote it just to cover some basic stuff, so sorry if it's not too good :D  
**

**Okay....back to the story.**

***-*-***

Nothing was going right for Chris Jericho. Vince threw him a story line that had him beating down old, decrepit men. The more he fought these men, the more he feared his slowly increasing age number. Every punch he threw had to be slowed down at least fifty times, and he was only allowed to brush the wrinkled, paper thin skins of the veterans. Anything more and Vince swore to have his hide. Granted Chris never took any threat seriously, but for some reason – as of late – he was beginning to do just that. He went into the storyline full throttle, when in the past he would have rather been mauled by bears before being handed second rate scraps.

His problems did not end with SmackDown. After the show – and during the week - he would head to the gym at nights . There weren't staff personnel at nights and the gym only had a random custodian who would come at midnight to close the building. After a few days of going, he was now greeted with another late comer. In fact, there was more than one from time to time, but only one man had his full attention: Shawn Micheals. The man had started coming to the gym every evening, five minutes before Jericho showed up. What started as a little annoyance soon matured into a fully grown presence that Jericho could not help but take note of. Had this been a few years back, he would most likely have been unable to hold himself against the overwhelming sex appeal that Shawn Michaels was famous for. However, thankfully time had dished out a cold hand to Micheals, and soon the 'boy toy' had lost – in Jericho's eyes – all the appeal that made him famous.

While at the gym, both men conceded not to speak to each other, and if a stare was exchanged, they would both mentally pretend the other was not there to begin with. The set up worked quite nicely for Jericho as all he had to do was plug in his ear buds, turn up his rock music and block out the man he hated with every fiber in his being. The plan worked, and then Evan Bourne stepped into the picture.

It was two weeks after Jericho was forced to be in the same room with Micheals after swearing to never even breathe the air around Shawn ever again. Sadly, Cena enjoyed a good night's work out too, and soon grabbed Evan, and dropped him at the gym. Cena worked out in the gym across the street. Now while it was all good to be able to see the little man every night – even though they never exchanged a word or glance - what ate at Jericho was the fact that Evan was now talking to Shawn Micheals. And the latter man was laying his lust on thick. Bourne, being too dense for his own good, had never been able to pick up any hint Micheals threw at him. It made Jericho shockingly pleased that the smaller man could actually – in a sense – hold his own against the appeals of Shawn. However, as time wore on, Evan had grown on Shawn (or vice verse) and soon Cena was no longer the younger man's chauffeur. Micheals had quickly replaced the job.

The night started off as usual: Evan on his back pushing up weights and Shawn lustfully spotting the younger man. Jericho waltzed into the gym five minutes later and was given an exclusive viewing of how Shawn Micheals truly works. The fact that he lacked any ability to be able to see through the simple lies when he was younger truly appalled Chris. He dropped his bag and began running on the treadmill.

//Just ignore it Chris. It's got nothing to do with you.// Despite having decided to try and give Bourne a chance, the thorn in his side came from the realization that giving any leeway to the man was only going to lead to one thing: He would be trying to one up Micheals. And that was something Jericho would never allow himself to do. As worrying as it was to see Shawn getting closer to Evan – who was getting more comfortable around the older man – Jericho knew that, out of everyone else, Orton would never let the kid get hurt. That denoted that Evan was safe for now.

Jericho looked over his shoulder, but wrung his head right back around when he ended up sharing a glance - that lasted a few milliseconds – with the showstopper. He cursed himself for his inability to flat out ignore Micheals. He quickened the speed of the machine and ran a bit faster to keep up. Lately he had been lacking in the cardio department, after he realized he was completely out of breath after his ten minute match with Rey Mysterio. The younger Chris Jericho would have been able to go for longer periods of time in the ring with anyone, and still have enough energy to go another round. However, as his leg muscles began to quickly fill with lactic acid and his breathing started to get raspy he realized just how much age was taking its toll.

The treadmill stopped fifty minutes later. //Guess that sums this up.// He thought as he steadied his harsh breathing. After counting to twenty in his head to let the blood flow steady, he stepped off the machine and headed to the weight lifting section. He stopped short at the sight his baby blues be held. Evan Bourne, on his back, and pumping metal. No Shawn Micheals in sight for miles. //W-Where'd that bastard go?// He glanced around to find the gym HBK-less. His blue eyes settled right back on Evan. Instantly, his mind brought up an image he thought he had forgotten. Bourne, on his back and completely naked. It took everything Chris had to stop himself from indulging in some sort of twisted fantasy with that image as the driving force. //I should just ignore him.// Chris turned to head for the dumbbells, but something stopped him dead in his tracks. From the way his eyes glazed over, to the way his long forgotten calm demeanor suddenly returned, although not known as an opportunist, only a blind man would pass up on the one that was staring Jericho in the face. Shawn Micheals was not around, and Chris felt the urge to go and talk to the kid. Without any hesitation, he walked over to Evan.

***-*-***

The loud music blared in his ears as he repeatedly moved the metal bar up and down. //I've got to build some more muscle if I even hope to hold my own out there.// The bar came back down as he pushed it up and away. A shadow crept over him alerting the man to a sudden presence. Evan put the bar down and slowly sat up, wiping the small towel – that hung over his shoulders – over his sweat covered face. He slowly looked up at the owner of the shadow.

"Hey Sha -" His voice swallowed itself. "J-Jericho?!" His heart suddenly sped up and he found himself in expectant mode again. //Stop it Evan! When are ever going to learn? Jericho doesn't -//

Chris' soothing voice cut in to Evan's thoughts, "You shouldn't really be doing that without a spotter."

It took Evan a while to process the information. "Uh, well Shawn was just spotting me and -"

Chris ran his eyes lazily in a poor attempt to scan the room. He looked back at Evan – causing the younger man's face to redden. "Well, until he comes back let me spot you."

Evan suddenly shot his eyes to the ground. His nerves raked at each other. //Calm down Evvy.// "U-Um...w-well you see...." //Why am I stammering?! Just act normal!// "Um...I finished."

Chris raised an eyebrow in question. "Finished? You mean you're done?"

"Y-Yeah." Evan mouthed his answer to the floor. He fought back the urge to meet the intense blue eyes he could almost feel peering down at him. "I-I better get going." His voice was lower than a whisper, and sounded alien. "I-I have to find...Shawn....because he's driving m-me." //Oh God! Why are my sentences so screwed up?!//

Chris scowled a bit, but drew in his anger. //Quit it. I didn't come here to do anything. Any further persuasion and it'd look like I'm gunning for him.//

His eyes landed on the back of Evan's neck. Despite being clothed in a T-Shirt and track pants, his neck was in full view. Without any prior warning, Jericho felt his throat get very dry, and his thoughts went straight to the gutter. That provocative image he had tried to bury came back in full view, and it quickly evolved into a movie scene followed by sound. He clenched his hands into small fists in an effort to steady his increasing heart rate and breathing. He shut his eyes momentarily only to be bombarded by a wave of weird fantasies that had apparently been lying dormant as they were all fully made and all about Evan. His eyes shot open.

//It's not wrong to want his body. He's young, good looking and he's a virgin. It's simply a physical attraction. There is no other meaning behind it. You just want his body.// He nodded a bit to no one in particular.

"Bourn -"

Evan walked past him, his large eyes still focused on the ground.

//The hell?// Chris turned around, eyes flashing something dark. The want was getting to him. "Hey Bourn -" Blue eyes locked on to those calm tea greens. All feelings channeled to disgust.

Evan walked over to the older man, beamed him a smile and exited the building. Shawn's eyes had not left Chris for a second. The blond swaggered over to Jericho with a cocky smirk landing right on his face. Chris stood frozen – unable to move or breathe. It pissed him off.

"So it seems you _can_ make a move."

Chris did nothing more than frown.

"Aww, don't be like that." Shawn raked his drunken stare over Jericho's body – grinning deviously when Chris' jaw tensed. "Don't worry Chris. I'm not going to anything to you."

Despite disliking to hear his first name being called – most of all by Micheals – Chris could not find his tongue at the moment to lash out a counter attack. If any term could describe his dilemma, it would be scared stiff. Shawn decided to step up his game. He ran a lazy finger down the side of Jericho's face. That proved to be the final straw. Jericho instantly swatted away the man's hand, his rage blazing ahead in full, bright colors.

"Don't fucking touch me." His face dropped deadpan.

Shawn gave a childish pout. "C-"

"And don't call my name." Jericho was not allowing the man to speak another word. "I don't want you around Evan anymore."

Shawn scoffed "What?" His grin grew, "_You_ are telling _me_ what to do? And where do get off trying to act as if you own the boy." He chuckled darkly, "You know, Orton has a few screws missing too. He's actually _convinced_ that Evvy belongs to you."

//Evvy?// That nasty scowl returned to Chris' face.

"But I know different. You can only say something like that after you've broken the boy. So in truth you don't own Evan at all." He smiled playfully, "It took me a while to get that through his head. That kid sure is dense. But then again, I don't mind, because that simply means he'll stay around me longer." He leaned closer to Chris, "Unlike _you_ of course. You _just _had to leave. Didn't I give you everything you desired?"

Chris ground his teeth. //Don't fall for this shit! Do not retaliate! He just wants you to -//

"Even now I can still hear you all too clearly." His voice lowered as he sat his face beside Jericho's ear. He slipped into a mocking tone, "_Please. I'll do anything, just please make me_ -"

His tight fist connected squarely with Shawn's jaw. The force sent the man flying a bit until he knocked into some machinery and finally stopped. Without giving up a mere second, Jericho pounced on to the older man and fed him a couple more hard rights and sharp lefts. Shawn tired to fight back, but Chris simply pounded on him. His breaths went raspy and his heart beats were deafeningly loud. Even though Shawn had stopped moving, Jericho wasn't satisfied with just seeing the man's blood. He wanted to pound him to unrecognizable mush. And he would have, had someone not stopped him.

Noting the length of time it was taking Micheals to get to the car, Evan had re-entered the gym to see what was keeping the man preoccupied. His jaw dropped at the sight. Chris Jericho was attempting to murder Shawn Micheals. He body worked faster than his mind, as in an instant he was dragging Jericho – who was still shooting punches – away from Micheals' beaten and bloodied body.

"Jericho!"

Chris' eyes glared down at Shawn. He lounged forward to get a few more hits in, only to be clumsily dragged back.

"J-Jerich -" A backlash from one of Chris' failed punches caught Evan in the jaw. He dropped the older man again to attend to his bleeding mouth.

Chris seized the opportunity and continued hammering Shawn into the floor below. //Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!// He cursed himself for losing it. He cursed himself for being unable to pull away. But the sight of Shawn being pummeled by him erased any conscience he might have had.

Evan grabbed the older man and yanked him further away. "Chris! Stop it!"

At the sound of his name, Chris' rage suddenly subsided. The feeling was quickly replaced with shock. He looked down at his shaking hands. They were covered in blood. Unable to stop himself, his blue eyes trailed towards Shawn. Or what could be called Shawn. The man's face was covered in blood, and bits of peeled flesh. Jericho's eyes widened in shock. He turned around to be greeted by a worried face that had blood staining the area below the nose.

"E-Evan?"

"Yeah." He sighed softly and tried to forge a smile. The attempt ended in total failure. "Chris, are you okay? You really went off -"

His bloodied finger tips gently ran over Evan's mouth – cringing once the younger man flinched at the pain. "W-Who...did I..."

A small smile graced Evan's face, "It was a total accident." He looked worryingly at Shawn. "I think we should get an ambulance over here."

Evan's request did not register. All Chris saw was the blood that he had caused Evan to spill. It made him angrier – at himself. In all his years, Chris Jericho could recall a total of five times he had lost control of his actions. Three of those were all scripted. The remaining two were all due to Shawn. Once again the bastard – in Jericho's mind – had caused him to lose all control. And this time he ended up hurting an innocent person.

"Chris?"

Jericho slowly stood up. He was tired. His head hurt. His jaw hurt. Everything was just writhing in pain. "Just call the ambulance. Then call Orton's number. He'll know what to do." His voice murmured as he walked away from the situation.

//What should I do? I want to go with him but -// He looked over at an unconscious Shawn, and sighed in defeat. //I better just call a doctor.//

***-*-***

The phone rang. It was probably the third time now. He groggily reached over and yanked the darn thing off the table beside him. Cody moved in closer to the retreating man, making it even more difficult for Randy to move. He cursed under his breath threatening death to anyone who was calling.

"Hello?" He slowly sat up, knowing it was best to not be lying down lest he fell asleep mid-conversation.

"Randy?" A shaky voice trailed in.

"Evan?" He looked at the time and scrunched his nose, "Why are you calling me this late?"

"I-I...I'm at the hospital."

"The _hospital_?!" He quickly silenced himself, checked on Cody – relived to find the man still sleeping – and lowered his voice. "Why are you there? What happened?"

"I don't know. I was at the gym with Shawn -"

"You what?! Why the hell were you with _Micheals_?!"

"A while he ago he offered to spot me, and then he soon started carrying me there."

//That damn Cena! What the hell is he doing?!// "Why wasn't Cena carrying you?"

"He stopped going at nights."

//I wonder why.// He scoffed at his sarcastic thought, before speaking in a serious tone. "And? What happened? Why are you in the hospital?"

"Chris lost it Randy! I left to go to the car and wait, but then when I came back Chris was beating Shawn to death. I pulled him off a couple of times, and ended up getting socked in the jaw. The Doctor's said I busted my lip. But..."

A long pause followed. Randy soon grew concerned. "But?"

"T-They said Shawn's in a real bad state. H-He's not waking up. And they wanted me call in the police, and I said I would, but Chris told me to call you."

//That shitty bastard.// Randy sighed a bit, "All right. That's good. I'll handle this. You just stay there and let the Doctor's look you over. All right?"

"Y-Yeah." Another pause. "Um, is Chris gonna get fired? I don't want him to get fired! He's just frustrated with something, and maybe he just needed a punching bag! Please Randy, don't let him get fired. H-He's the reason I -"

"I know." Randy raked his eyes with his hand. "I won't let that happen kid." //This is one truckload of crap. Why'd Chris get himself agitated?// The man drew in a deep breath and spoke gently into the phone. "Just leave this to me, stay at the hospital, and call me when Shawn gets up."

"O-Okay. Thanks."

"I gotta go alright."

"Okay. Bye."

The line died after Evan hung up. Randy stared at the screen until it went blank. //I should have seen this coming from a mile.// He ground his teeth as his jaw clenched tightly. //That asshole Micheals was just waiting for the right moment to tear Chris down. And that meat head Cena just let him!// His fingers angrily pressed down on the numbers in rapid succession. He put the phone to his ear, letting his anger mature with each ring that passed.

"Hello?" A groggy voice answered.

"Cena!" He clenched his jaw again, "Who's side are you fucking on?!"

"H-Huh?"

"Why the _hell _did you allow Micheals to get within range of Evan?! And then within range of Jericho?!"

"What? _What?_ What the hell are you talking about?"

Randy spat venomously, "Jericho beat Micheals into a coma and hurt Evan in the process! All because _you_ decided to give Micheals an opening that allowed him to worm his way back into Jericho's life!"

A few ruffling sounds could be heard on the other line. It sounded as if John was getting out of bed. "What?! Jericho beat down Micheals?! When?!"

"A few hours ago I guess. Evan is scared to death that Jericho might get fired. Hell screw 'might'! He _will_ get fired! He's put down the man Vince just invested a whole wad of money into." He slowly shook his head, "And we all know how the boss gets when someone screws with his money."

"Yeah. What the hell are we gonna do?"

Randy sighed a bit, "Well first, I told Evan to notify me the minute Shawn wakes up. If he's conscious, and able to walk, I can convince Vince to have it look like Taker beat him up backstage. It'll propel the feud, so it'll make money."

"And what about Jericho?"

Randy glanced at the ceiling – thinking for a second. "Well, I promised Evan that I wouldn't let Jericho get fired. I can't guarantee that the guy won't get suspended though."

"Shit. And he's in a feud with his title on the line. Plus you've got the veteran thing."

"Yeah." Randy raked his hair, "He'll most likely have to drop the title soon, and then have the veterans beat him down so the script can have him out of commission."

"What about Wrestlemaina? Will he be able to get back by then?"

Randy hung his head, "As much as it pisses me off, Jericho's career is hanging on Micheals recovery. Right now the guy is at Micheals' mercy. If Micheals decides to drag out his recovery to the last second, then Vince won't allow Jericho to walk into Wrestlemaina."

A long sigh trailed in. "This is all my fucking fault! Why the hell did I -" A pause. "Micheals told me he'd just drop Evan off at the gym, and pick him up later. He told me he wouldn't go anywhere near Jericho."

"And you _believed_ him?"

"I had no choice! I wasn't going out there anymore, but Evan wanted to keep at it. He really wanted to put in overtime. So I agreed with Micheals."

"Well" Randy heaved a deep breath, " for what it's worth, I'm sorta happy Jericho got a few hits in." Randy smiled gently, "It's just proof that maybe the guy's finally letting it go."

A heavy scoff trickled in, "Beating your tormentor to a near death state is 'letting it go'? That doesn't sound right." John's tone dropped quickly, "So where's Jericho?"

"I'll find him soon enough. Don't worry. He's not the type to go jumping off a bridge when the shit hits the fan. He's probably in _reminiscent mode _right now."

The two men exchanged a laugh before Randy finally ended the call. He looked over at Cody with gentle blue eyes and absently ran his hand through the brunette's hair. A soft moan escaped Cody's lips as he huddled more to himself. Randy smiled a bit at the sight, and then bent down to plant a kiss on his lover's forehead. Cody's brows creased a bit as if he sensed Randy withdrawing slowly. Randy smirked and bent down putting his mouth close to Cody's ear.

"Don't worry Cody." He lowered his voice. "I'll be back soon."

***-*-***

**Jericho: * standing triumphantly"And here you all thought I couldn't man up?" **

**Randy: *eating a cookie* (where the hell does he find this stuff anyways?!) "Well, yeah. But you've screwed yourself over, and you're no closer to getting into Evan's pants.**

**Jericho: *glaring daggers at me* "Who's fault is that really?"**

**Me: *pretending not to notice anything* "I think I hear my mother calling."**

**Jericho: *starts chasing me with blood in his eyes* "YOU FUCKING LIVE ALONE!!!!" **

**Me: *running away for dear life* "HELP ME! RANDY! HE'S GONNA KILL ME!"**

**Randy: *drinking Cola* (I swear I don't know where he's getting this stuff from!) "Don't kill her Jericho. The story must go on."**

**Jericho: *pauses* "Oh yeah." *raises his voice* "FIX THIS WRITER GIRL! GIVE EVAN TO ME! MY SEXUAL FRUSTRATION IS ALMOST AT IT'S MAX!"**

**Me: *cowering in fear* "Okay." sniff.**


	10. Chapter 10

Lately, he realized, his dreams were getting worse. After wrenching himself from the fifth nightmare in a row that left him gasping for air and drenched in sweat, Chris Jericho realized that he had a problem. In the past, the nightmares would have been only about his memories, which as time went on, slowly disappeared. However, those haunting memories came back, but the subject changed. No longer was he dreaming about himself in those terrible situations. Instead, he got replaced by Evan Bourne. And the offender was himself.

It was truly only natural. Shawn Michaels was back, and as expected his memories would start to haunt him yet again. However, it was unnatural that the characters involved would be replaced. It just made Chris hate his ever-growing want for Evan even more. The past was following him like a death cloud. He cursed himself for his inability to just forget everything, move on and just live out his life as he so fit. Instead here he was, hugging himself tightly, curled in the fetal position and staring at the ground below his bed with his blue eyes as wide as saucers. Anyone looking could see that Chris Jericho was scared out of his mind.

//Get a hold of yourself damn it! It's only a dream!// He knew he was lying. It was only a dream, but it had been fabricated from haunting memories that had happened to him in the past. The only reason it could still be categorized as a dream was because it had Evan Bourne in it. Even with that knowledge, it was still possible to go as far to say that maybe it was some sort of foreboding omen. Maybe he was really thinking about doing those things to Bourne, and the thoughts just happened to overlap his disturbing memories of the past. He cringed again as a flashback of his nightmare knocked his brain cells.

_***_

_Evan Bourne stepped into the standing shower. He felt a bit light headed, but that was just thanks to drinking a bit too much. He smiled at himself as he recalled the funny dances his friends did when the liquor took its toll. He had passed out for a few minutes, but thankfully his friends took him back to the hotel room they were sharing. When he woke up, they weren't there, but the note they left said they had gone back to the party. It warmed his heart to still have friends he could count on. _

_He stood in the shower for what felt like forever and stared at the ground. Somehow he felt a tinge of inexplicable self disgust cloud over him. He took the bar of soap and – at first – slowly rubbed his left arm, only to speed up the act. Evan bit his lower lip hard, and continued to tear at his flesh with the bar of Ivory soap. It wasn't until he felt his flesh burn did he stop. He stared at the red mark on his arm and hissed at it under his breath. He finished taking a shower and turned the water off. _

_That's when he heard the door lock. Surprised, Evan opened the shower door to take a look at which drunken friend had been able to make it back. //A bunch of idiots all right.// He smiled a bit, but it hadn't even matured past a coy smirk before dropping once he saw who exactly was standing there. Chris Jericho stared back at him with an eerily calm expression. //H-How did he... why the hell is he here?!// As Evan opened his mouth to shout at the top of his lungs, Chris' hand was already covering it. His other hand was grabbing Evan by the throat._

"_Don't make a sound." Evan nodded quickly in compliance. "Good boy." _

_His tea greens raked over the younger man's frightened expression, only to land on his bruised arm. He smirked a little, removed his hand from the boy's mouth, and grabbed the boy's arm. Evan had to bite back the outcry of pain that welled in his throat._

"_Why did you do this to yourself? Hmm?" He let out a small tisk before planting Evan face first on the floor. The boy cried out as his head smashed hard on the tiles. "I told you not to make a sound."_

_Evan shot his baby blues up at the towering blond, and swallowed thickly. "P-Please....don't do this." His voice squeaked._

_The older man grinned deviously before bringing his face closer to Evan. He trapped the younger man's bruised arm behind his back and pressed his weight down on Evan. Evan clenched is teeth in an effort to silence himself under the crushing weight of the older man.  
_

_"You know," His husky voice downed to a whisper, "I would do the things you like, but I don't want you making a sound." He planted a cold kiss on Evan's cheek. "You wouldn't want your friends over there to wake up now would you?"_

_The younger man stretched his field of vision to catch a mere glimpse – through the crack of the bathroom door -of his two friends passed out on the bed in the other room. Evan squirmed pathetically in a failed attempt to fight off the older man. His muscles went lax under the effects of too much liquor, and he silently swore to himself to never again touch it. Amused by Evan's struggle, the blond trailed a cold finger down Evan's warm back. The boy tensed to the touch, but nothing more._

"_Let me just warn you before hand," The sound of a belt buckle snapping open stung Evan in the ears, "this will not end quickly."_

_***_

After ringing for much too long, the vibrations finally propelled the phone onto the carpet floor. A loud thud hit Chris' ears, and his glazed eyes immediately focused on his surroundings. He was in his hotel room, and his arm muscles were beginning to cramp. Surprised by his actions, Chris quickly broke the hold he had on himself, and sat up. He gently rubbed his temples in thought.

//What the hell was I doing?// The phone rang again. He looked at it, and picked it up. His facial expression instantly soured upon seeing the time. //Is it that late already? How long have I been asleep?// His head pounded a bit and he rubbed it with the heel of his palm. //Why do I feel like crap?// He hit the call button to answer.

"Hello?"

A gruff, commanding voice trailed in, "Dining room in one hour Jericho! Don't make me wait!"

Jericho couldn't even reply as the caller cut off instantly. He scoffed as he looked at the name that slid across his screen. //Aye Aye Captain.// He rolled off the bed and headed for the shower. No more than ten seconds later, he was back in the bedroom.

***-*-***

RAW continued on with a show down featuring Hunter squaring off against Randy Orton and Ted DiBiase. In no time at all Stephanie was out at ring side, and then out cold. Randy and his crew walked away slowly as they entered the back stage area. Once all three Legacy members hit their locker room, all gloves came off.

"Why did you have to kiss her?!"

Ted slid his eyes over to Randy as though to emphasize who it was that Cody had directed his question to. Randy shot the younger man a look of amusement before taking a seat on the bench. Cody paced the floor like a caged animal – glaring constantly at Randy – and tore off his fake bandages. He stopped moving so as to seem more frightening, but Randy gave a small smirk in defiance. Cody threw up his hands dramatically into the air.

"You didn't have to kiss her Randy!" He frowned heavily at the older man, "She's Hunter's _wife_ for crying out loud! Plus she was unconscious! Even though it was based off the script that was just _cruel_! How could you even -"

"_Cody_." Randy's voice cut in like a well-sharpened blade, forcing the younger man to cease talking. Satisfied with the results, Randy turned his attention to Ted. "Teddy, go and locate Evan will ya. The locker room just got dangerous again."

Ted –muscular arms folded across his chest – eyed Randy in thought, "Dangerous? What happened?"

Randy's eyes narrowed, as he lowered his voice, "Michaels is back."

***-*-***

The low sounds of cutlery hitting the tables and the clinks of glasses as they knocked heads filled the small dining hall. He leaned back comfortably in his chair, and straightened his shirt collar every time the thought to do so crossed his mind. //Where the hell is he?// He sighed heavily as his eyes slid down onto the gold-plated face of his Rolex watch. //One hour huh? What a joke.//

Patience was a skill that was easily owned by Chris Jericho. It was the attribute that propelled him to the top – the ability to sit still, observe, and then after thinking through every possibility, make a move that would best benefit him. Jericho's high tolerance for things most people would have certainly lost their heads over separated him from the horde at a young age as he stood out like a sore thumb. However, that famed patience was wearing thin as Jericho eyed his watch once more. //That's right. Take your sweet time.// He scoffed slightly at the sarcastic thought.

"Evening Jericho."

Chris looked up slowly with a small curt smile on his face. "Good evening Vince."

Vince looked down at the empty seat that his hand was firmly grasping. He smirked a bit at something unseen, before taking a causal seat. "Let's get right to it."

Chris gestured for the man to continue.

Vince McMahon. The most powerful man ever to step foot into the entertainment business. One word from this man and not only could he end careers, he could end lives in general. When it came to business, the Devil himself could not hold a candle to Vince McMahon. On a personal note, Vince was what many would describe as being a "wizened old man". When it came to family matters, Vince "Vinny" molded into a teddy bear persona. He always looked out for family first, so one could not help but congratulate Hunter when he made himself a permanent part of the McMahon's family tree. Vince was going to have a wrestler in his family whether he wanted to or not.

Although many people knew Vince as either the "wizened old man" or the "Devil-rivaling-cold-blooded-loan-shark-type-business-man", Chris Jericho knew him as neither. To him, Vince McMahon was no demon, and he wasn't anywhere near wise. The term Chris found befitting of Vince was smart. It was from his silent observations of the McMahon that Chris was able to arrive at such a conclusion. To many Vince always seemed to be doing things at random, and by luck he was still drawing in the crowd, and popularity many people dreamed of. However, that deduction was nowhere near the truth. Vince – as seen by Chris – always planned a minimum of two hundred methods and courses of action before doing anything at all. It was for that reason that Vince had no enemies currently in the WWE. The board also feared the man as – despite holding more stock in comparison – he had the tools to be able to get rid of people as he saw fit, and no one could say anything against it.

"I'm a man, Jericho, who believes that business and personal are two very different things. Like oil and water, the two just do not mix." The older man leaned back in his chair, "Look at Brett. He's a classic example of that philosophy."

"That's only by opinion Vince." Chris' trademark monotone slipped in, "I know you didn't just come here to talk to me about your outlook on the 'Montreal Screw job'. So let's just cut through to the only reason you have bothered to come to this crummy place while your flagship is on air. Shawn Michaels has recovered hasn't he?"

Vince 's smile widened, "Leave it you to figure that out under five minutes." A placid expression masked his smiling face, "Shawn did make a full recovery. Orton came to me with the idea of having a Taker versus HBK backstage brawl that would be shown on Smack Down as a way to 'amp' up the feud. It would explain his bruises too. Now I don't _like_ when people try to do my job, but I won't be denying Randy's idea. In fact, I've even rewarded him by giving him leeway with his script for tonight. He can do whatever he wants – just ensure everyone's still breathing."

"How very nice of you." Chris drew in a silent breath, "Not to be rude, but if Michaels is alive and kicking, and all is well in the WWE Universe, why did you come to see me? If it's about my script, I believe all those writers you've hired aren't just for decoration."

A low chuckle escaped the older man. "Just like Chris Jericho." He sighed softly, and straightened his back. His eyes locking dead on onto Chris. "Like I said Jericho, I don't mix personal feelings with business decisions. That's why I opted to sweep this altercation between two of my top superstars under the rug. Shawn is back, no charges have been pressed, no outsiders saw this, and that Bourne guy agreed to keep quiet on the whole issue. I didn't even have to ask Orton to do the same. He showed his vow of silence when he came to me with a business idea to fix this dilemma as an offering. My only problem now is _you_."

Chris creased his brows a bit, but his deadpan expression did not falter, "You shouldn't even be worried in the least. To me, the incident never happened."

A smirk hit Vince's face, "Now I am happy to hear that. But you see it _did_ happen. And I'll be damned if I don't exact some consequence on you."

His small frown matured quickly. "You're betraying your own philosophy here Vince."

"As did you. I know full well about your personal history with Shawn." Chris' astonished expression let Vince know that he had hit the nail right on the head. "I've known about it for quite some time now."

"So if you knew why didn't you-!" Chris had to quickly rein in his anger. His voice went cold. "If you knew this, can I ask why nothing was done?"

"What my wrestlers do behind closed doors is none of my business."

Jericho closed his fingers into tight fists and rested his hands on his legs. "Then you're half-informed. Ninety percent of what we did happened right under your nose."

Vince scrunched his nose a bit and then scoffed, "I know you're probably wondering why I did not apprehend Shawn about his sexual lifestyle. Well, that's because it was his own business. Again no charges were pressed, and no outsiders came about." He shot his cold eyes at Chris, "And everyone kept quiet."

"Alright. So the situation here is the same. If Michaels wasn't punished, then I see no reason why I should be."

Vince laughed shortly. "That would be true if everything was _exactly_ the same. You see, unlike Shawn, you went and injured another wrestler. Now thankfully Bourne made up some crap story to some pesky Doctors about the whole thing being because of a car accident. However, his lower lip had to be stitched. He was booked to have a match tonight, but I pulled him from it because of our no blood policy. With stitches he's bound to bleed after a punch or two. This cost RAW to be one match short. I'm now hoping that Orton might drag out his session to fill that void." Vince paused to allow the information to sink in, "So, I'm kicking you out for two weeks. I've already informed my writers to make up some patch work storyline that has you being injured by Rey. His fight with you will be for the title in a No Holds Barred match. Rey will severely injure you and you'll lose your title and be out of commission. After the taping of Smack Down, I want you gone."

Chris ground his teeth. His blue eyes smoldering with rage. //Shut it Chris. Just don't say anything.//

"Don't worry though. Chris Jericho will be at Wrestlemaina. He just won't be around for the two weeks leading up to it." Vince dropped his tone, "Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal."

"Good man." Vince stood up, patted the linen table cloth and walked away.

Chris watched in silence as the older man walked away, and forced himself not to go ape with rage. //I don't believe this!// He drew in a long, loud breath and let it out slowly to calm himself down. //Even Bourne got screwed.// He solemnly shook his head and stood up to leave the room.

***-*-***

Evan stared silently at the three men looking back at him with wide eyes. Randy was the first to clear his throat, and then respond to the situation at hand.

"Tell me _again_ what you just said." Ted and Cody shifted further back away from Randy as his tone went grave and his anger started to seep out. "But this time, go _slowly_."

Evan – who was still childishly smiling from ear to ear – tried to contain his need to bounce off the walls. "Okay okay. I was feeling bummed out because I wasn't in a match. I was sitting in the lounge watching the TV, and then Shawn came in and asked me out." Sensing that Randy didn't look all that pleased, he aimed to pacify. "Um, but it's not like a date! He just said I needed a change of pace so he'd take me to see a movie and then we could go eat somewhere."

Randy craned his neck to the side to get a better look at Ted. "What the hell were _you_ _doing?!_"

Ted – confused and sacred out of his mind from being at the other side of the cold glare of his angered mentor – opted to speak in the calmest tone he could find, "I was looking for him Randy! He wasn't in the locker room like you said man, so I checked the rest of the rooms, and found him watching TV in the lounge."

Randy's eye twitched noticeably.

"B-But man seriously, had I known he was there from the start I would have sprinted...and..." A low growl escaped Randy's lips. "It's totally my fault! I didn't do a damn thing! I let this shit happen! And there are not enough words that can express how sorry I am right now!"

Cody sighed softly feeling sorry for his friend, but not willing to take his place. Randy's ice blue eyes shot back at Evan. The man looked at him curiously with his smile still present on his face. He had a look of total obliviousness. Randy smacked his forehead with an open palm and sighed in defeat. //I don't know how I'm going to get this through his head.// He looked at the man with a winced expression, //It might be too painful for me. This kid is so dense it hurts!// He walked closer to Evan and rested his hands carefully on the smaller man's shoulders. He raked his eyes over Evan's face to find even a small hint that maybe the man would understand.

"Evan. Listen. Michaels is simply..." Randy turned to face Cody. "You tell him damn it!"

"O-Okay." Cody smiled sweetly and walked to Evan. "Evan, can you remember that time I went on my first date with Randy?"

Evan thought, and then nodded, "Yeah. You said he was taking you to see that new Transformers movie and then he was treating you to dinner afterwords." He beamed Cody a smile, "You came back to the hotel two days after to tell me that Randy had kidnapped you and you guys had gone out of state. That was funny."

//Good he remembers.// Cody pressed his lips tightly together while smiling. He soon released the hold. "Now, Michaels is taking you to see a movie, right?"

"Yeah. I think it's an action flick, but I don't really know yet. Anything's good for me, except for those chick flicks. I can't stand those."

"All right!" Cody pressed his hands down on Evan's shoulders. //Calm down. I have to go slow with him because otherwise he won't understand.// "So you're seeing a _movie_, plus he's taking you out to _dinner_. Right?"

"Yeah." Evan bore confusion on his face. "I already told you so why are you asking me?"

"Because Evan, it's the exact same thing Randy and I did back then! It's a date!"

Evan mulled it over. "No it isn't." His response was blatant.

Cody quickly and harshly shook the smaller man, "Yes it is! He's taking you to a movie! Just like Randy took me to a movie! He's taking you to dinner! Just like Randy took me to dinner!" His growing annoyance would not subside, 'And he's going to fuck you afterwords! Just like how Randy did to me!!!"

Silence hung in the room. Only Cody's heavy, staggered breathing could be heard. Ted opted to lick his lips quickly instead of saying anything. Randy simply smirked. Evan's brown eyes went wide.

"_That's_ what happened?! You told me you slept with him! But you really had _sex_!"

//I can't take it anymore!// " 'Slept with him' means fucking him! So when Jericho had asked you to _sleep with him_, he meant to have sex with him!" He didn't give the smaller man time to comprehend. "Listen! Michaels just asked you on a _date_ Evvy! A _real_ date! You can't go with him!"

"B-But it really isn't a date Cody." Evan gave the taller man a woeful look. "He's not treating me, and we're splitting up after we eat because he's staying somewhere else. Plus it's just like we do when we're together. Well, he's not going to play video games, but it's almost the same. We're just hanging out Cody."

Cody hung his head in defeat. //This is pointless. What is with this guy?! Why can't he just get it?!// He let out an exasperated sigh before calmly facing Evan. "Well, since you're just hanging out I don't think Michaels would mind if we join you right?"

"He won't, but I would."

All three men gaped at Evan. Cody moved back a bit in shock as if he had just been shot at close range by a friend. Evan tilted his head a bit to the side trying to comprehend why everyone suddenly looked hurt, confused and downright surprised.

"I mean he offered me a change of pace. If I carried you guys with me, it'd be like telling him I didn't need, or want his help in the first place, and that he just wasted his time." He frowned a bit, "And that's just rude."

It shocked all three men that Evan – famous for being the densest person alive – had actually made them seem as though _they_ were the ones who were missing a few screws. Cody settled his shocked expression and quickly replaced it with a proud look. He was proud of Evan for being the smart one for once, and he was proud of the guy for having such an innocent outlook on what had to be the darkest scenario to ever step foot in front of Cody Rhodes. He was about to relay some words of wisdom and caution to the smaller man, when the locker room door banged loudly against the wall as it opened.

Randy rolled his eyes in annoyance and Ted – now seated and feeling really out of place – ran a lazy hand through his chestnut blond hair. Cody looked over Evan's shoulder to see who had caused the disturbance, and Evan turned to face the door.

The tall blond standing in the doorway was panting for air, with a look of insanity plastered on his face. His voice strained, "I-I j-just heard!" He let out some more heavy breaths, "John just told me!"

Cody walked towards the man, rested a hand on his shoulder, and looked him over worryingly. He was semi-dressed. His pants were on, but he was barefoot, and shirtless. //No surprise Cena would know about this. He's more on Michaels side anyways, so it makes sense that they're talking to each other.//

"Listen, come inside and calm -"

"Shut up!" He shoved Cody out of the way gaining a hard look from Randy that he chose to ignore. He stopped breathing, and then continued a bit slower. "Evan!"

Evan blinked a bit after he finally processed who was standing ahead of him. "J-Jackie? Why are you -"

"It's Jericho!" Jack cut the smaller man short with a loud barking tone, "Jericho got suspended!"

The sound of jaws hitting the floor was all that filled the room.

***-*-***

**Me: "Poor Jerry."**

**Jericho: "Shut up!" **

**Randy: "You know dude, you really need to just lay someone already! You're even _fantasizing_ about dominating Evan now."**

**Jericho: *glaring angrily at Randy* "Well _excuse me_ for being so screwed up! And besides I don't -"**

**Me: *jumps in between them* "Shhhh!!!! Don't go giving away information like that Jericho!"**

**Jericho: *pouts* "Fine!" *mumbles as he walks away* "But you better fix this! I really am at the end of my rope."**

**Randy: *now eating a chicken wing* (where?! where is he finding this stuff?!) "Yeah writer-girl. He might just end up sleeping with one of us."**

**Me: "Hey that's a good idea."**

**Jericho and Randy both shout: "NO CHANCE IN HELL!!!"**

**Me: *cowering in fear* "O-Okay! Okay! No JeriRhodes, or Tedco, or Jeriandy!!! Only JeriBourne! JeriBourne!"**

**They both nod in unison.**

**(I need a new job. This is too scary. T_T)  
**


	11. Chapter 11

**I feel bad. Very, very bad for writing this. And I apologize to everyone mourning right about now. I know I am T_T**

**Okay....back to the story.**

_***_

_Brown eyes went wide by the second, "W-What did you just say?!" _

_He leaned against the door frame to catch his breath. "J-Jericho got suspended. Adam was at the dining hall at the hotel; he heard the whole thing and called John." His blue eyes flicked up at Randy. "He tried you, but you were in a match."_

_Evan gaped, "C-Chris..." He gathered his running thoughts, "How long Jackie?"_

_Swagger stood upright after a few deep breaths. "Two weeks. He'll at least make it to Wrestlemaina."_

_Evan's expression sold bewilderment. "B-But why? Why did he get suspended? I told the Doctors it was a car accident! Shawn promised not to press charges and no one's said a word! So why?"_

_Jack's deep blues' went sad, "I hate to say this Evvy, but it's because of the injury he dealt to you."_

_***_

"Evan?"

Evan blinked rapidly to bring himself back to the current situation. He looked up to see a pair of calm tea greens looking back at him with worry from across the table. //That's right. I'm eating with Shawn.// He beamed a small smile, and put down the glass of wine he had been holding mid air for who knows how long.

"U-Uh yeah. Sorry. What were we talking about?"

Shawn sighed a bit and smiled softly as he leaned closer towards the younger man, "You don't look too good Evvy. If it's because of the whole fight with Chris, you shouldn't worry. I told you it doesn't matter."

Evan's smile shook a bit, "I-It's really not...that. I...um..." //Go ahead and tell him! It's Shawn Michaels after all. Maybe he can do something.//

"Or is this about Chris' suspension?"

It took a few seconds for Evan to comprehend what was said. "U-Uh yeah." His smile dropped, "H-How did you know?"

Shawn leaned back in his chair and smiled teasingly, "I'm Shawn Michaels." His smile slid downwards, "Listen Evan, don't go thinking this is your fault. Chris knew the consequences he'd have to face when he went and dragged personal problems into his business life."

Evan dropped his eyes to the table. His voice downed lower. "A-About that...can I ask you something Shawn?"

Shawn's smile returned, "Sure you can Evvy. You can ask me anything."

"Well, I've been meaning to ask you for a while now, so..." He looked up sheepishly at the older blond. "Are you and Chris getting back together? Do you still have feelings for him?"

Shawn raised an eyebrow.

Evan stammered out his explanation, "I-It's o-okay if y-you still like him! I-I mean y-you have history, s-so it's n-not like i-it would be unexpected, or a-anything!" He caught a breath, "B-But, I-I just needed to..." He hung his head and sighed in defeat, "I'm sorry. The truth is, I -"

Shawn sighed and smiled, "You were worried I was going to try and make a move on Chris huh?"

Evan nodded, not trusting his tongue to relay an answer.

"And that's the reason you agreed to stick around me because then I couldn't do anything to Chris right?"

Evan looked up at Shawn and slammed the table – startling himself a bit. "No! I mean...." His face went red with embarrassment, "I mean, sort of, but no!"

Shawn scoffed heavily, "Um... that makes no sense Evvy. Try this: You really are friends with me, but somewhere along the line the intention became clearer. You were going to try and wedge yourself between a possible reunion for Chris and I." He leaned closer to Evan and grinned, "Am I getting warmer?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Am I right on the mark?"

"Yeah." His head hung again. "I'm sorry."

Shawn laughed loudly, "Don't be. I'm just surprised you thought Chris and I would even _consider_ getting back together! What in the world made you think that?"

Evan looked up sheepishly, "Well, every time you looked at each other you both looked like you wanted something, and you guys had such a friendly vibe with each other.

Shawn choked on air, "W-What?! Friendly vibe?! Where? Last I recall Jericho beat me into unconsciousness Evvy!"

"Well," Evan shifted his gaze to his left, and shrugged, "Friends fight sometimes."

Shawn opened his mouth to say something, but stopped to rethink. "Okay. I sort of see where you're getting this idea from Evvy, but rest assured, Chris and I can _never_ get back together. Even if we tried. And friends? I would _love_ to be friends with Chris, but the feelings nowhere near mutual. He'd probably hold a party at my graveside if I suddenly died." He sighed, "And about that 'want thing'... Jericho wants me dead. That's it."

His large eyes shifted a bit under heavy lids, as he mulled over what had just been said. //So they're not getting back together. That's good.// He glanced at Shawn to find the older man digging in his meal. //I need to go and see if Chris is alright. Even if he doesn't want me around, I can't let him suffer because of me.// Evan inhaled a deep, yet quiet breath before facing Shawn yet again. This time, he had a genuine smile on his face. //Now I just have to find a way out of this.//

"Uh Shawn -"

A metal three prong fork flew towards him with a chunk of dark sponge at the end. The fork landed in Evan's mouth silencing the man. Shawn smirked deviously as he pulled away the empty fork and watched in amusement as Evan slowly chewed the contents in an attempt to decipher what it was that he was eating. His brows were knitted in thought for a short while only to give way to a cheerful expression later on.

"W-Wow! This is good! What is it?"

Shawn took a drink of his water to wash whatever he had been eating down his throat. "That, my friend, is chocolate cheesecake. You like?"

Evan's face lit up, "Yeah! It tastes so good! I love anything sweet, but this is really delicious. But you know Randy and Chris are the only two people I can think of who can't stand sweet stuff. Well, Randy will try to eat them for Cody's sake, but Chris would rather die." He mumbled softly, "I remember seeing Edge give him some candy when his throat went sore and lying about it being mints. You should have seen his face it was so -"

Evan cut his sentence short and stared into Shawn's observant eyes in utter silence. //I shouldn't be talking about Chris right now! The reason Shawn invited me was so I could lighten up, not go into depression mode!// After a few moments of silence had hovered over them, Shawn decided to resume eating. He was unsure why Evan had suddenly gone pale and lost the ability to speak, but generally did not care too much for the reason. He finished his meal despite the uncomfortable silence that sat above the two men, and leaned back casually in his chair. His trademark calm expression washed over his facial features. The younger man was nibbling at his food that had been sitting there ahead of him for over an hour. His expression was filled to the brim with worry.

"I really like you Evan."

The piece of meat he had just swallowed instantly turned sideways and blocked his esophagus. He quickly picked up his glass of wine to wash it down – breathing a bit heavily after his throat cleared . His cheeks tinged with a hint of red as he faced Shawn with shaky eyes. //Cool it Evvy. Yes this is the first time someone confessed to you, but it's not the guy you want.//

He smiled, "Uh, wow. That's nice. I like you too Shawn. You're a great friend." //That's it! Just like Cody taught you. Add friend to everything, so you're not confessing.//

Shawn smirked, "I think you're misunderstanding me." He titled his head slightly to the right, "I _really_ like you Evan. More than a co worker. More than friend. In fact, I like you a hell of a lot more than Jericho does, or ever will for that matter."

Evan's breath hitched, "Uh..well... t-that's nice. But, I _really_ like Chris. I-I'm sorry."

"What is it that draws you to Chris? Hmm? I really want to know why you are so hung up on a man who will never have the balls or spine to acknowledge you."

Evan's teeth clenched a bit. He felt a strange, alien fire ignite inside him, and it was slowly spreading throughout his body – filling him with rage. For some reason, Shawn as making him really angry.

"Well, um, I like _a lot_ of things about Chris. He's kind. He's loyal. He's really nice – and not just regular nice - I mean he's nice by nature. He's cool. And he's fun to be around."

Shawn bit back a cruel chuckle. "First let me ask you this. How do you know about Chris so much?"

"I watch him."

Shawn scoffed slightly, "So let me now ask you this. Don't you realize that the reasons you like Chris are similar to the reasons you like your friends? There's nothing different. I'm sure Cody is fun, nice, kind, and we all know he's loyal to Randy. So with that in mind," He raked his blond locks back, and creased his brow teasingly, "you really just like Chris as much as you say you like me. He's nothing more than a friend is he?"

The heated feeling enveloped Evan's entire body. His hands began to shake a bit. He hid them beneath the table. "N-No. He's more than a friend to me." His strained each breath out of his nostrils in an attempt to moderate his tone. "He's even the reason I decided to come to the WWE."

"So he's like a mentor you look up to? That's still not love Evan."

Evan swallowed thickly. He cautiously drank some more wine. "Uh, well, he's not a mentor either. I -"

"You can't claim love if there's no lust involved." Shawn chuckled at Evan's astonished expression. "Don't look so shocked. It's the truth. If you're not lusting after Chris at all, then there's no way you're in love with him."

Evan planted his gaze to the pieces of food on his plate below. "I-I do that."

"Care to explain? What exactly is _'that'_ ?"

Evan grabbed the legs of his pants tightly. Despite his body heating up a mile a minute, everything else was slowing down. His heart beats and breathing rates were strained with each one slower than the last. His head began to pound with ache. He licked his lips three times in the span of a second to add moisture to his suddenly very dry lips. //Lust? W-What is he talking about?// Evan struggled to face Shawn, but gasped a bit at the blurred vision that lay ahead. Suddenly everything was spinning – slowly at first, only to speed up shortly after wards.

Shawn leaned closer to Evan's swaying body. "If _that_, is referring to thinking of Jericho taking you every second of the day, and suddenly getting weak in the knees every time you see him, then that is what I call love." His palm rested on Evan's hot cheek. A wicked grin crossed his face. His voice hit a stretch of gravel, "But let me give some words of advice. Jericho doesn't want to take anyone. He likes to be taken – by force of course. I had to break that into him, but soon he too agreed. Unfortunately, you will _never_ be able to fulfill such a wish. You _can't _take Jericho."

//W-What...is he...talking about?// Evan's breaths were coarse and tense. //I...I can't....stay here....// His thoughts sieved through, //I have...to go...to...// "C-Chris..." His voice cracked the word.

Shawn scanned the dining room. He quickly locked his tea greens on Evan's flushed face that was topped with watery brown eyes that gazed dreamily at Shawn from below slightly tanned curtains and dark lashes. He chuckled a bit and then stood to his feet. He walked over to Evan and picked the younger man up – flinging his small frame over his shoulder. He left money on the table and exited the room.

*-*-*

The room was lit with dimmed lights that hung ominously from the ceiling. He looked at the bulbs, with his arms crossed over his chest and his body clinging to one side of his bed. Despite being in the position to sleep, Chris Jericho found himself awake and staring at the dim lights that had been on for most of the night. He craned his neck to look at the clock radio sitting on the bed table beside him. It was a little after one in the morning, and he cursed under his breath for waking up so early. Although he was mad at being awake, his uneasiness would not subside. Not only had it taken him forever to finally clear his mind long enough to sleep, he was unable to stay asleep despite being in the position he was used to. After five minutes clocked by, Jericho finally decided to get out of bed and do something with his time.

Before his feet could even touch the carpet below, a loud series of knocking came to his room door. Chris growled loudly at the noise and rubbed the side of his head in agony. He was still feeling, for lack of a better term, shitty. The knocking came back, and got louder. Hissing below his breath, Chris hobbled over to the door and opened it.

"Can't a guy get some -" He sighed once his eyes locked on to the visitor. "Why are you here? It's one in the morning."

"That's no way to greet someone. Can I come in?"

"Would you go away if I said no?"

"No." The man stepped past Jericho and entered the dim room. "What is up with this mood lighting?" The man curiously looked around, "Got a date hiding in here or something?"

Chris shut the door behind him and returned to his sitting position on the bed. "Do I ever hide anyone?"

"I wouldn't know."

"Well to answer your question, nothing is up with the lights. They're dimmed. That's all." Chris straightened his spine, "So, why are you here?"

The younger man took a deep sigh and sat beside Jericho. "Jack told us about your suspension. Sorry to hear that man."

Chris scoffed, "And I suppose you came all this way, at one in the morning, to just tell me that?"

"As if." The younger man looked ahead with narrowed blue eyes, "I wanted to know what you're planning to do now."

Jericho eyebrows rose slowly, "_Now?_ What about now?"

"Michaels took Evan on a date."

Chris stopped breathing all together.

"And Evan told us not to come with him."

"H-Huh? And you listened?!" Chris stood up in shock, "You know fair well the shit Michaels is capable of so why the hell did you let Evan go alone Orton?!"

Randy sighed and scratched the back of his head before shooting Chris a deadly glare – that proved ineffective against the angered man. "Look. I don't like this anymore than you do, but there's something you have to be aware of Jericho."

"Enlighten me."

"Evan's a grown man, contrary to his childish looks, and childish behavior. The point is, he can do whatever he wants. And last time I checked, he was single."

Chris sat down stiffly, "So, what are we going to do about it?"

Randy scoffed, "Me? I'm doing shit._ You're _the one who should be doing something."

Chris looked up at Randy and then broke his stare to look at the door. Without any need to sleep, his mind felt compelled to go blank the minute it was needed. He smirked slightly.

"You want me to say I'll go in and take him from Michaels huh?"

"Does it matter what I want?"

"No." He sighed, "But I won't be taking anyone away from anywhere."

Randy frowned heavily, "You're just gonna leave him to be devoured by that wolf?!"

Chris' placid expression cracked away, "The only way I can take him from Michaels' clutches is if I go there with the full intent of accepting his feelings and starting a relationship with the man."

"And this is a problem _because_?"

Chris slid his eyes to Randy, "I told you before. I don't love Evan Bourne. I love his body. I want his body. But he can keep his heart."

Randy raked Chris over with cold, biting eyes. "You're not serious?"

"As a heart attack." His icy blues had not left Randy's face. "I've thought about it Orton. If I get my emotions tangled with that kid I'm bound to go psycho on his ass."

"_You_?"

"Yes _me_." His tone flat-lined. "My sexual preferences tend to mirror my past sometimes."

Randy scrunched his nose, "That's wrong! That's downright wrong Jericho!"

"And it gets worse around someone like Evan." Chris looked at the floor. "He's just like me when I was younger. And now I think I've really become a second Michaels. If I got with Evan we'd have another traumatized guy in the WWE, only this one wouldn't have the drive to keep his chin up and move on for the sake of the company."

Randy grinned and shook his head slowly, "You're really stupid you know."

His eyebrows shot up to his forehead, "Why thank you for that compliment."

Randy's tone hit ice, "Although I see your point Jericho, I still think you should give the kid a chance. You don't know him at all, so you can't label him as being naive."

Chris' lips parted to retaliate, but he stopped short at the start of the sentence. He opted to just continue staring absently at the floor. It hurt his pride a bit that Randy spoke the truth. Chris Jericho always worked with the philosophy – that he picked up after leaving Shawn - that you should never judge a book by its cover. It was thanks to that idea that he was able to read people accurately, and be able to understand situations no matter how limited the information was. He glanced at Randy who was now facing the door ahead, and then sighed as he followed the younger man's line of vision. His mouth fell open slightly at the sight he suddenly be held. //Didn't I lock that door?//

***-*-***

//Too bright!// The burning lights hit his eyes causing him to whimper as he closed them tightly. //Why am I so tired?// He struggled with the weight of his head as he tried to get at good look at his surroundings. Every muscle ached in pain. His arm felt broken. He lifted his eyes to it, and almost screamed at the sight. His entire left shoulder was bleeding and dyed in the color of iodine. He tugged at his limbs, but found them spread and bound to four bed posts. //W-What is this?! W-Where am I?!// His eyes widened as he scanned the very unfamiliar room. He tried to yell, but the sudden taste of fabric alerted him to his bandaged mouth. His heart rate sped up, and his breathing was more audible, but his overall strength was gone. The more he moved about the more energy he lost. //Oh God! W-What is this?!// A sudden kiss of cold air that hit Evan's back revealed to him the ultimate shock– he was completely naked and on his stomach.

The door to his left opened. He anxiously looked at it and shouted wildly beneath the cloth that attempted to silence him. His eyes went wide in horror as he looked at the man staring at him with that trademark expression, and clad in nothing but a pair of loose boxers. The man leaned towards Evan and trailed his spine with something cold and coated in metal. Evan strained to see what it was, but fear was clouding his vision. The man moved closer to Evan's ear and tugged at the cloth covering his mouth.

A gravel voice trailed in, "Now listen to me very carefully Evan, because I will only say this once." The cold metal trailed along Evan's back and upper shoulders. "I am going to remove this cloth from over your mouth, but in return you must keep very quiet okay?"

Evan stifled the tears that started to well up in his eyes. Unable to speak, he nodded in reply.

"Good."

Two seconds later, the cloth was gone and Evan's lips were free. He drew in a deep breath as the man moved away.

He thrashed about on the bed, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Get away from me you sicko!!!! Help! Help! Somebody hel -!"

A loud crack was heard. A sting then hit Evan's bare back, and then he screamed in pain. Another crack followed, and the harsh sting came back. This time Evan opted to bite his lower lip.

"Good boy. You get the idea. It had taken Chrissy a long ass time to get it!" Another sharp, sudden hit. "If you make a sound, this rod here is going to have to mark your pretty skin. And I don't like that. Really I don't."

Evan shook in fear. "W-Why are you..." The hard metal hit his shoulder blade. He quickly bit into his lower lip, piercing the stitches and causing it to bleed.

"If you want to ask me something, then you have to say _'Please'_. And don't say it in a boring tone. I want you to _beg_ as if your life depended on it."

Evan's head began to pound again. He felt sick. And scared. "P-Please t-tell me why you're d-doing this S-Shawn?!"

Another hit to his back – a piece of the rod caught his broken arm. "Now I'm not shouting, and I don't like to be shouted at. So ask again Evvy. This time, tone it down."

Tears stained Evan's face. He looked at the closed door with fright marring his eyes. "P-Please..." He swallowed a sob, "t-tell me w-why you're doing t-this?"

A cruel grin sat on the blond's face, "_Why?_" He stooped beside Evan – blocking the man's view of the door. "Because," He rubbed the younger man's swollen cheek with the back of his hand, "I like you remember." He smiled at the younger man's scared expression, "Don't worry. I'll make sure you enjoy this – even a little bit. Okay?"

Shawn smiled and stood to his feet and walked away. Evan's eyes were locked on the door. //I have to get out of here!// He tugged harshly at the handcuffs that attached him to the bed posts to no avail. The result was adding more cuts to his bruised body. //I have to get out of here!// He clenched his teeth to curb an oncoming sob rendering it silent. //I have to get...// He held back on another sob. //I don't think I can!// Hot tears flowed down his cheeks as despair set in. His entire face hurt. The sharp edges of the handcuffs rubbed over the fresh cuts on his wrist and ankles. Sweat ran down the canyon welts that formed on his back. One pain after another – each trying to one up the last. //I have to...I have to....// He felt his mind slipping once more as his limbs went completely limp and his body became unresponsive. A knock came to the door. Evan opened his mouth, but quickly shut it once Shawn walked towards the door.

"Are you ready?"

"Always." Shawn chuckled darkly, "Everything's set. Come on in."

Evan's spirit dropped to rock bottom once he saw the large, burly figure coming into the room. //I-I'm going to die!// He closed his eyes as his mind numbed over.

***-*-***

**Me: "DAMN THAT IDIOT!" *loading my shotgun and locating Jericho* "COME OUT HERE JERICHO!!!!"**

**Randy: *eating a bowl of cereal* (You know... I give. I don't where he finds all this stuff!) "He's probably off to find Evan."**

**Me: "WHAT?!" *inhales calming deep breaths* "If he comes back empty handed I will shoot him!"**

**Randy: *yawns* "Yeah Yeah. Just put a silencer on that because I'm going back to sleep."**


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry for this slow upload. I've just been bogged down with school work lately so the chapters are trickling in at the moment. Don't worry though, I'm almost finished. **

**Oh and let me say this... I had to stop a number of times when I wrote this just so I could chant "Light at the end of the tunnel" to get myself writing again. I really, REALLY just wish I could yank Evvy out of this, but sadly I can't T_T JERICHO WHERE ARE YOU?!**

**Okay....back to the story.**

***-*-***

Things always tend to slip the mind whenever they are needed. That was no different for Chris Jericho, as he stared wide-eyed at the blond currently standing in his doorway. //Didn't I lock that door?// He raked his mind for an answer, but came up short. By the time it registered that he did lock the door, the blond was already standing ahead of the two men on the bed – arms folded and brows creased.

"What's going on here?" His voice was struggling to hold back on the anger.

Chris blinked – after a few seconds of forgetting how to do so, "Before that, how did you get in here Cena?"

John glared angrily at Chris, and threw a black plastic bag onto his lap. Randy – apparently unfazed by Cena's Houdini appearance – simply dropped his eyes to the side to eye the bag. Chris' glare hadn't moved from Cena.

"Do I look like a garbage man to you?"

"Shut it Jericho!" John grinned, and slowly shook his head, "I don't believe this. Here are two men sitting around the campfire talking about irrelevant shit while we've got a missing person on our hands."

Randy shot his ice blues up at Cena – a bit more life pulsing through them this time, "What?! Evan's missing?!"

Cena scoffed, dropping his grin, "Not just Evan. Shawn and Hunt are gone too." From the gapes and wide blues that stared at him, Cena knew he had gotten everyone's undivided attention. "Adam told me that the receptionist at the hotel those two were at said that Shawn had checked out about a week ago."

Chris shot to his feet before Randy and grabbed Cena by the shirt – dragging the younger man closer to his fierce expression, "A week?! You mean to tell me this whole thing was planned from a week ago?! And you knew?!" He tightened his grip, "Why the fuck did you let this happen?! Where the hell is Evan?!"

John dropped his blood shot eyes onto Jericho, "If I knew where he was why would I be here?!"

Randy eased Jericho's grip on John until Chris finally let him down. He raked a strong hand through his short, brunette spikes and looked at the two blonds in thought. Sparks flew between Chris and John.

"Okay guys, let's calm down."

Chris shot his murderous stare at Randy, "To hell with calm! It's your fucking fault the kid is in this mess to begin with!"

Randy ground his teeth. //Hold it in. No use getting upset.// "Right. It is my fault, but -"

"No Randy." Cena straightened his shirt. Both men turned to him, "It's my fault. I led Shawn to Evan."

"You wh-?!"

Randy had not been able to finish his retaliation, before a fist – that was not his – socked John right in the jaw. The blond was sent sailing to the wall – stopping only once his head and back knocked into it with a sickening thud. Randy slowly turned to look at Chris, swallowing loudly when he found the man breathing harder than necessary, glaring at Cena with intent to kill, with anger spewing from every available pore. Cena slowly rubbed his jaw and stood to his feet. He chuckled darkly as he dusted off his pants, but suddenly recoiled a lightning fast heavy fist and landed it dead on onto Jericho's face. The older blond flew to the TV and crashed into it. The large screen hit the floor and shattered under the weight of the man. The stand it was on was nothing more than a pile of sharp glass and metal rubble. Randy found himself stuck for a second as he watched the two men tear each other – and the room – apart. His blue eyes landed on the bag that was now on the floor. He opted to leave the two blonds alone and opened the large bag.

Inside there was a brown leather jacket complete with two zipper pockets on either side and metal rings running down the side. A BlackBerry cell phone encased in metallic skin with "Y2J" engraved in the back accompanied the jacket.

"Is this Evan's?" Randy turned to find the two men now exiting the bathroom and covered in blood, and sweat. "Hey." He grit his teeth as his jaw clenched in annoyance, "Is this Evan's?!" His voice roared through the room – reverberating off the walls.

Both men ceased throwing punches and looked over to Randy. The man was clutching both the phone and the jacket sleeve as he hunched over the bag glaring daggers at them. Unconsciously, Chris' hands slid from Cena's throat as his anger towards the younger blond slowly subsided. John also retracted his claws as the real reason he came in the first place seeped back into his mind.

"Yeah." His voice was low, "Adam found them in the dining room at Shawn's hotel." He answered pointedly, and walked over to Randy. He shot glances between the two men, "Listen you two, we can stay here and bicker all night, but right now finding Evan is a hell of a lot more important."

"All right." Chris exhaled loudly and wiped the blood that was seeping into his eye from his split forehead, "Where do you propose we start looking?"

Cena looked at the older man, "I was hoping you'd be able to tell me."

Chris rose an eyebrow, "Me? How would I know?"

Randy stood up and eyed the man with lazy eyes that hid ominous anger, "You of all people know how Michaels operates. He did the exact same thing to you remember? Where did he take you ? Where did he leave you afterwords?"

Chris placed a thoughtful hand under his chin and eyed the carpet in thought. In truth he did not want to have to purposefully recall such horrible incidents, but at the moment his wants and needs were taking absolutely no seat in his mind right now. //He took Evan out to his hotel. That was probably a signal to Hunter. I'm sure Evan didn't just willing go with him...// He creased his brows. //But then again that kid is so dense he probably just hopped into the car thinking they were gonna have a sleepover!// He shook the thoughts out of his head, //All right. After that he -//

Cena's voice cut into his sphere of thought, "Listen Jericho we don't have all night to wait on you, so just give us something to go on!"

Chris snapped back, "I would if you'd keep that cock sucking mouth shut!"

Cena balled his fists, but was stopped by a blocking tattooed hand. Randy shot Chris a less-than-soothing glare, "Cena's right Jericho. We don't have time. So hurry up with the thoughts."

Chris closed his eyes. //All right. After that he'd take him to a room. Not the one in the hotel, because he'd have to check him in, and that would just add to the long list of potential people who'd call the police. So that means Evan didn't go quietly. Maybe he was unconscious. Drugged?// He frowned. //That makes sense. If Evan was drugged, then there's no way the receptionist wouldn't notify the police. You can't bring unconscious people into these kinds of hotels.// He shifted his weight from one leg to the next. //So he took him from the hotel. Where did he go? It is Michaels so he has to degrade the guy, so he'd take him to somewhere shanty. And it has to be near to his hotel, because Hunter can't be too far in case Stephanie wants to pay him a surprise visit.// He exhaled slowly. //A shanty place with a room, with no one around to question the situation and is nearby. A shanty remote place with a room.//

His eyes shot open. He yelped once he saw the pair of expectant blues that suddenly appeared very close to his face, "H-He's in a motel." He composed his speech, "It's got to be one nearby, so just look for the one nearest to his hotel."

"Good." Randy turned on his phone and moved with lightning speed. "They're two motels within range of Shawn's place. They're pretty far apart from each other though."

Cena looked at Randy, "We should split up." He flicked his eyes to Jericho, "You go with Orton. I'll go alone."

Chris frowned a bit, "No. There's a good chance Hunter's already there, so it's unwise to go alone. Take someone with you. Copeland or Swagger, whichever one."

Despite loathing that Chris was 'insinuating' that he was weak Cena swallowed his pride, "All right. Let's get out of here."

Both blonds hopped to – Chris grabbed a shirt and flung it on. He put on a pair of running sneakers, leaving the socks behind. As the two men sprinted to the door, a shout from Randy stopped them mid-way. John turned around. Jericho did not.

"You guys wanna notify the police?"

"That's a good -"

"No." Jericho cut Cena short. Both men looked at him. "If we call the police you can all kiss WWE goodbye. This incident would drive it into the ground."

Cena blared, "But think about Evan! The more help we get the better!"

"I _am_ thinking about the kid!" Chris heaved his shoulders with a small sigh, "If he wants to press charges, let him. But it'd be mortifying if his name was plastered on the news with this whole thing. He'd never live that shame down, and Michaels would be the last guy laughing." His hands clenched into tight fists, "And I'd rather _die _than see that happen."

Both Orton and Cena exchanged shaky glances – they were not happy with the idea, but both silently acknowledged that Jericho was right. Taking into account the silence that followed and labeling it as a form of understanding, Chris opened the room door and left first. John and Randy followed quickly afterwords.

***-*-***

A few mumbles trailed in. His head hurt even more as the taste of salty blood drained into his mouth staining his tongue. //Huh?// His right eye opened. His left eye remained shut. He tugged at the muscles, but it refused to budge and only hurt more in the process. //H-How long have I been out?// Strangely, his breathing was a bit more normal, and his heart rate had sped up more. However, his limbs were still unresponsive, despite him trying to move them. The cold kiss of metal and the clanging sound that followed afterwords told him that his hands were still attached to the bed posts. When he shifted his ankles, he was surprised to find them_ un_-cuffed. He trailed his eye down and almost gaped at the sight – in the time he had passed out, somehow he was now on his back. //H-How am I -?//

The sounds of the voices he heard earlier got louder – alerting him to his current situation. //That's right!// He frantically looked over to the door. It was closed. //Someone else came in!// Panic and fright immediately returned from where they had been hiding accompanied with the abyssal pains. His entire body ached – starting with his back. The coarse sheets rubbed over his welts – that were still fresh – as he shifted about. Ignoring that pain only led to being able to feel the pain of his broken arm and now twisted ankle. //When did I twist my ankle?!// The non-existent answers only caused him to panic more. Hot tears flowed heavily out of his eyes and down his cheek. The salt in them burned his left eye and the cut on his lower lip. //Stop crying already!// He cursed his inability to simply shove away all feelings of despair and fear and simply focus on a way out. There had to be a way out. He looked to his right to see the curtained windows. Before he could even get a spark of hope going, the light in the room – that was now dimmed – pierced the thin reddish curtains to reveal to him the utter hopelessness of his situation. They were boarded shut.

"Hey look at this."

Evan shot his wide brown eye ahead. He opened his mouth, only to stop short once the pain in his back reminded him of Shawn's warning.

The blond walked over to the younger man. He was dead naked. Evan almost passed out again once the man's landed his heavy weight onto his small, broken frame. Piercing hazel eyes stared at Evan's frightened, teary expression from beneath overhanging brows that cast deep, dark shadows over them. He gently stroked the side of Evan's face and smiled coyly when the younger man flinched and tensed to the touch.

"You're so beautiful Evan." His deep grating voice rang in Evan's ear. The older man drew in Evan's scent and grinned as lust lit up his eyes, "That's why we can't let Chris have you all to himself. It's against the law for one man to own all this. Isn't it Evan?"

Evan stifled the sobs that threatened to blast out of his throat.

The towering man planted a small kiss on Evan's busted lips. Evan lashed out and bit the man on his lower lip – ripping it open when the blond pulled away. The evil smile that was present on the aged skin of the older man's face suddenly dropped. His sunken hazels lit up with fury as he struck Evan's near-broken jaw with the back of his hand. Blood and what might have been pieces of flesh flew out of Evan's mouth. Despite the pain that rattled his jaw later, Evan clenched his teeth to it, and channeled the feeling into a harsh glare filled with defiance and fearlessness. The older man glared at Evan as he wiped the blood off this mouth and stood up.

"Hit him again and he might just die Hunter."

Hunter turned his glare to the man leaning casually on the door frame. His smirk returned, "I guess you're right Shawn." He flicked back the stray strands of blond hair that had slipped over his face, "Are we going to do this or what?"

Shawn looked down at Evan with those calm tea greens, "If he wasn't such a fighter then this would have been over a long time ago." He smiled playfully at the frightened smaller man, "You really should just stop Evvy. It'll only hurt you more if you keep fighting us like this."

His mind told him to grin and bear it, but his body had had enough, "Fuck you." The words spat venomously out his mouth.

Shawn laughed cruelly, "I plan to do just that to you Evvy." He walked over to Hunter, "Now as promised I'll let you have the first go. You have the money?"

Hunter cocked an eyebrow, "What did you think was in the bag I lugged over here?" He licked his lips as his eyes landed on Evan, "And don't worry. Vince agreed to the idea. Your new contract will come in the mail three weeks from now."

Shawn gently patted his friend on the back, "Good to hear that." He gestured towards Evan, "Have a go. I'll just be sitting over here if you need anything."

Hunter scoffed, "Good to know."

The smaller blond walked to the couch that sat at the wall below the boarded window. Evan watched in utter horror as Shawn simply sat down, crossed his legs and took up a puzzle book and pen in hand. The creaking sound that came from the bed alerted Evan to his current problem. A two hundred and sixty pound, tall naked man towered over him with a face painted in lust and cold hazels looking down at his battered body in surveying mode. Pleased with whatever it was he saw, Hunter picked up Evan's legs and pushed them down towards the man's shoulders as he leaned in closer to Evan. Evan shifted about, but his limbs remained unresponsive. A small – eerily gentle - smile landed on Hunter's still bleeding lips as he stared directly at Evan. In a short instant that did not even last a mere second, Evan's good eye overlapped Jericho's face onto Hunter's. It brought the smaller man to tears. Two months ago he was in this position – minus the broken bones, bleeding lips, cuts, welts, bruises, handcuffs, and Shawn – with Chris Jericho. //Why didn't I just man up and let him take me then?! I had been saving up for him and just when the opportunity came I chicken out!// Hunter toyed with Evan's limp manhood that suddenly sprung to attention. The smaller man silently cursed all things instantly as he glared down at his sudden erection. It disgusted him that he was getting hard by Hunter's slimy hands. And it irked him that out of all the muscles on his body _that one_ decided to react.

"Oh wow." Hunter's eyebrows shot up dramatically, "I haven't done anything yet and look what happened." He leaned his mouth closer to Evan's ear, "I'm going to enjoy this."

The older man's hand slid down further. Evan's mind suddenly went numb with a jolt of pain. Something was inside, and it was moving, and it hurt like hell. Encased in the thorny hands of pain, but still finding some strength to look, a wave of alien relief washed over Evan as he registered that Hunter's erection was still in full view. His middle right finger was not. The panic then came back. Hunter smiled deviously. Another jolt of pain hit Evan. His eye slid down to note that two of Hunter's finger were missing. His body tried desperately to reject. He tensed all over as waves of pain racked his body. He felt – for lack of any other term – strange. And sick. As another cry of pain clambered up his throat, Evan bit down hard on his lip bringing it down to a mere wince. He glanced over at Shawn – desperation setting in at the moment – only to be greeted with a view of the man struggling with a puzzle in his book. He wasn't even looking at the happenings that took place ahead of him. Annoyed with where Evan's attention chose to be paid, Hunter pulled his fingers out of Evan and grabbed the man's cheeks forcing his head to turn. Evan looked up at Hunter. The older man's deep hazels had now been completely shadowed by his brows.

"It seems I have to work harder at keeping your attention." He pressed himself up against Evan. The younger man trembled madly. "Just remember not to scream."

***-*-***

**So my muses aren't here. They're out looking for Evan. And they BETTER come back with him.... or so help me I will slaughter them all! **


	13. Chapter 13

**I HATE cliff hangers. Okay I just don't really like them. I like them ONLY when the rest of the story follows immediately afterwords.**

**With that said, I apologize greatly, to the people who took the time to read this story, for the previous chapter. It was indeed a cliff hanger. Here's the chapter that follows. Enjoy! **

**Okay... back to the story.**

***-*-***

The road was basically empty and despite being lit up by the glow of nearby streetlights and some random buildings, it was generally dark. Silence and tension as thick as a tree trunk hung above the heads of both men. Sticking true to the habit he had forced into an imaginary corner, Randy was biting on his third nail. Chris had to once again shout at him to stop it. However, he wasn't doing any better in all fairness as the moment his eyes fixated on the road; his lower lip would suddenly be crushed by enamel. It was then Randy's turn to shout at him with the stop command. Raw nerves sprouted from both men as they silently thought in unknown unison //If they harm a hair on Evan I will murder them both!//

The car was speeding beyond its' own limits. Lights and sounds passed by in the time it took to blink as the four wheel vehicle ate up the asphalt below closing the destined distance. Mercedes were known for speed after all.

"I'll try Michaels again."

"Don't." Chris' icy stare literally froze on the road ahead. The bones of his knuckles were scratching away at his thin flesh. "What makes you think he'll answer? The guy's a sick fuck Orton. The sooner you get that through your inflated head the better. Right now I feel like throwing you out so that the car can lighten and go faster."

Randy frowned slightly, "I know you're pissed Jericho, but that's no excuse to -"

"If it was Cody wouldn't you do the same?"

Randy clenched his jaw. "I'd even find a way to teleport."

Chris scoffed in reply.

The four tires chomped down the distance. Randy checked the GPS system on his phone to ensure they were on course. On his command, Chris took a hard left turn – almost causing the vehicle to lift of the ground and topple into the surrounding buildings.

***-*-* **

The large H2 Hummer screeched as it sped around another right corner. The back streets of the area were faster than the highway and it allowed them to cut more than enough time by going through detours. However, the large Hummer -famous for its lack of maneuverability -was taking both men more time to get through the area. However, because of the large size of the vehicle, more asphalt was chomped down and the distance – in a few minutes- had halved.

"I can't believe Shawn would do this!" The younger blond turned his shaky blues to the crazed man driving. "And you actually_ led_ him to Evan! Even though you _knew_ the guy was a freaking rapist?! Why John?!"

Cena flicked his harsh eyes at Jack – his glare softening upon seeing the disbelief sitting on his lovers face, "Look, I didn't want it turn into this, but -"

"But what?!" Jack's voice rose quickly, "But you thought that maybe Shawn had changed?! That maybe this greedy man who would do anything to get to the top – as you so blatantly put it – had just turned a new leaf after a few months away from wrestling?! Are you a total idiot?!"

John glanced at the road, and then back at Jack. "I..." He stopped and re-worded. //Right now Evan's what's important. I don't have time to argue.// His blue eyes shot back at the road. His voice dipped into anger, "Just tell me where to go."

Despite wanting to get more answers out of John and not liking his sudden evasiveness, Jack decided to shut his mouth and focus on the task at hand. Evan was out there and he was lonely, and scared out of his mind. And Jack knew – had he been in this situation – he would be praying with every breath that someone would come along and rescue him.

***-*-***

For the second time, Hunter tried to force himself into Evan. For the second time, he failed. It was as if an impenetrable barrier made completely out of Evan's will had suddenly appeared and was blocking Hunter. As thankful as he was, there was still some pain as Hunter was literally trying to ram himself into what had to be the smallest opening ever. He couldn't fit and he knew it. Instead of trying to be cerebral about the situation, Hunter turned to his animalistic form. After his second failure, he began pounding heavy blows into Evan's torso. Each hit took the breath out of Evan as he was repeatedly struck further into the bed.

"_Hunter_." A lazy voice stayed the larger blond's hand. "I told you hit him again and he will die. Just look at him for Pete's sake! He must have at least two broken ribs by now!"

Hunter slid his glare to the man seated in the couch a few steps away, "He's too damn tight Shawn! It feels like I'm shoving my dick into a brick wall hoping it'll break!" He clenched his teeth in annoyance. "I can't enter like this!"

Shawn sighed heavily and put his puzzle book down beside him. He smiled gently at Hunter. "Has it really been so long since you've done a virgin? It's only natural he won't be letting you pass without some form of foreplay to break the tension."

"I haven't lost my touch if that's what you're insinuating over there." He let out a low growl, "You just didn't tell me this guy was a super-virgin."

"So what? Is he dry or something?"

Hunter looked down at Evan's face. A wicked grin slid across the lower part of his face, "Yeah. It looks like that's the problem." He glanced up at Shawn, "Got any lube for that?"

Shawn scoffed as he stood to his feet. "Why do you think I'm here?"

Evan shifted his glare between Hunter and a retreating Shawn. His brow was creased slightly – anymore and he would reopen his head wound. //Tight? Lube? What are talking about?// He shot his glare up at Hunter. The older blond's face was too close to Evan's – who was struggling to gain some distance.

"Evan." His voice had dipped into a cold soothing bath, but Evan missed the tone. "Why don't you loosen up for me? Huh?" He grabbed tightly onto Evan's still hard erection causing the younger man to let out a small whimper – when in truth he wanted to scream in pain. "You feel this? _This_ is what I'm going through right now. Now Shawn made me _promise_ not to have your lips on my dick and personally I don't want to either because who knows what you're carrying, right?"

//Carrying?// Once the pain simmered down, Evan raked his eyes over Hunter's bland expression. //Does he think I'm pregnant? How is that even possible?// Confusion marred his face.

Hunter's grip tightened. A sinful grin hit his face as he watched Evan squirm in silent agony. His tone hit an ice terrain, "If you want me to let you go, how about you ask for it?"

Evan silenced his harsh breathing – each breath felt hot and caused a burning pain in his chest. "P-Please..." He coughed. A few splatters of blood sprinkled on to his chest. Hunter scrunched his nose in disgust. "P-Please l-let me go."

Hunter placed a commanding kiss onto Evan's lips. The younger man did not even bother fighting back – all his strength was withering away. The older man pulled away to break the forceful kiss. He ran his free hand across his thin lips and flashed his hand away as if to discard of whatever it was that had been on his mouth.

"As I thought. Kissing you is really disgusting."

Evan glared at the man to the best of his abilities, but even that was portrayed weakly as he felt himself slipping again. For the first time he took a look at the sheets below. His face sold utter shock and horror as he noted the large pool of blood – his blood – that surrounded him and almost covered every white spot coloring the sheets. His right eye flickered a bit as his vision faded. //I'm...so...t-tired.// His head began pounding again as he let out a weak scoff at his thoughts. //C-Cody was right...everyone was right...// Heavy tears slid down his cheeks. The hot feel of Hunter's large hand as it struck life into him barely registered. He felt the cloud of despair slowly sink over his body, but desperately fought it off. //I can't give up now! I have to keep positive!// His left eye slowly cracked open, but it still felt heavy. //Good things...will happen.//

Hunter stared down worryingly at Evan before looking behind him. "Shawn! Hurry up with that fucking lube! The kid won't last much longer!"

***-*-***

The black car pulled in to the empty lot and screeched to a sudden halt. The force jolted both men forward, but Chris ignored it and quickly opened his door. He slammed it shut and ran over to the lobby area of the Motel. The place was utterly deserted. It was on the outskirts of the city and it looked like something out of a horror movie. The surrounding lights flickered. The building itself mirrored the architecture of the nineteen seventies with its flat line, one dimensional two toned walls and roof. The door to the reception area was locked – typical of a shanty remote negative integer motel. Chris hissed under his teeth as he banged loudly on the door with the number '1' hanging lopsidedly on it. He kicked the door a few times, until it eventually came down. Emptiness stared back at him. As he moved over to the second door, Randy's large torso stopped him dead in his tracks.

"What the fuck Orton?!" He snapped venomously at the younger man.

Randy glared down knowingly at the man, "The only way I can take him from Michaels' clutches is if I go there with the full intent of accepting his feelings and starting a relationship with the man." He smirked slightly at Jericho's confused expression, "That's what you said before all this."

"You could work for the CIA with such a good memory." His tone dropped to deathly lows, "Now get out of my fucking way."

Orton remained steadfast, "I just want to know Jericho," His eyes saddened, "when we save him, are you -"

"I'll take him!" Chris' harsh voice cut in like a knife, "I'll love him! I'll keep him safe! I'll be his one and only!"

Randy sighed, "That's great Jericho, but don't use this as a -"

His glared sharpened, "I don't care anymore Orton! If being with that kid puts him in danger, or makes me out to look like I'm just trying to one up Michaels, or whatever, then that's okay!" His claws retracted, "I might be saying all this now because of the situation, but it's funny how a situation can bring out the truth. And the truth is I'm gunning for Evan's heart. Even if I end up doing what Michaels did to me, at least it's me doing it."

"So, you're going to be with him right? This isn't the blood rush speaking? A week from now he'll still be yours?"

Chris' tone flat lined, "Even after death he'll still be mine."

//Can't argue with that.// Randy smiled gently and gave Chris room to move. The two men ran to the second door and after a few good kicks, the door flew forward to reveal yet another empty room.

***-*-***

The building was a miniature version of the hotel they were currently at. After tipping off the receptionist, both men got access to the universal key. They barged into each and every room – gaining nothing but loud screams, curse words and even stuff flung at them in return. After the last two rooms, it was evident that Evan Bourne was not present in this building. Jack ran down to the basement and found nothing but boilers, and machinery. He returned to the Hummer to find it started and ready to go. John shot him a worried look before driving off.

"Call Orton."

Jack obeyed and dialed the brunette's number with haste as the vehicle sped down the road. After two rings, Randy finally picked up.

"He's not here Randy!" Jack all but screamed in desperation, " We searched high and low!"

"We're at the fifth door but nothing yet." A sigh trailed in, "Check for anymore places. Bed and breakfast. Stuff like that."

"All right give me a second." He fumbled for John's phone and searched the web for clues. "There's an inn a few blocks from where you guys are. We're heading over there."

"Good!" Silence followed with faint shouts from Chris. "Looks like we'll be heading there too."

Jack hung up the phone and turned to face Cena. "Traditional Inn! That's where we're all going. Evan's not at that other motel."

John flicked his eyes to Jack, "All right. Lead the way."

***-*-***

The liquid was cold and oily. It trailed down onto the bed. Evan squirmed helplessly to the feel of Hunter's finger sliding in with ease. The barrier he had was shattered and now Hunter knew. Shawn had returned to his original spot and was engrossed in some more of his puzzles. Satisfied with the results, Hunter quickly drew out his fingers after an antagonizing ten or so minutes and licked his lips with gross pleasure. He leaned his body down onto Evan – crushing the man and further breaking his ribs. Evan tried to forcefully numb himself against the pain, but it proved futile. The older man blew a heated breath over Evan's sweaty, swollen and now bloody face.

"Third time's the charm." He leaned away, dragged Evan's small frame towards him, and smirked as he pushed against the smaller man. "Remember. Don't scream."

Evan stared at the man in shock. He yanked at his chained hands – further aggravating his broken arm and possibly dislocated shoulder. He tried to fight with his feet, but between his prominent limpness, and Hunter's heavy hands locking them up and down, the action came up empty. He shot another look at Shawn, finally giving up on any help from the older man when he looked on as Shawn casually flipped the page of his book. Hunter's manhood was already passed the tension barrier. It felt as though the older man was trying to tear him in two. Using whatever remaining reserves of strength, Evan swung his limp body quickly to the side pulling away from anymore of Hunter's advances. That was the final straw for The Game. His hazels darkened beyond recognition as he picked Evan up. He twisted the man's lower half so that his back was facing Hunter. Due to the handcuffs, Evan didn't go completely on his stomach, but being halfway there was all Hunter seemed to want.

"Now stop moving and take it like a bitch!" Hunter barked at the frightened younger man as he forcefully spread Evan.

Evan squirmed again, but because of his injured ribs being pressed down at such an awkward angle, he found it difficult to breathe. The lack of oxygen slowed his movements down quickly, rendering them to nothing more than a few twitches. He closed his eyes as Hunter grinned with triumph.

*-*-*

The phone rang for the second time. Randy quickly answered as the car sped around twists and turns. He put it on speaker phone.

"Hello?!"

"It's Jack! I called that Inn, and they have a Dave Batista registered there."

"Dave?!" Randy exchanged worrying glances with Chris, "Now even Batista is there?!"

"No! I called Dave and he was with Rey. Rey talked to me to confirm it! It looks like Shawn used Dave's name. The room he took out was the fifth one."

"Shit!" He raked his hair and grabbed the dashboard as the car swung to the right. "All right. Thanks."

The black Mercedes quickly reached the vicinity of the building. It was the exact same layout as the run down Hillbilly motel a few blocks down. A few cars were in the lot but that was the only difference. The car sped up as Chris stepped on the gas. His fiery blues scanned the building to find the door marked with a golden five on it. Once he located the room, he blasted the car through the wall ahead. The car only got halfway into the room, but that was more than enough at the moment. Both men stepped out quickly, only to freeze dead in their tracks. Randy took a second to look at Chris. He stepped away a bit once his azure eyes landed on to Chris' face. It was contorted in anger and rage. His trademark humongous dark aura had now visibly filled the room.

***-*-***

Death is a natural part of life. It comes for everyone. As Hunter came closer and his consciousness slipped him once again, Evan realized that he was fully prepared to die. No one was coming. However, as despondency crossed his mind a bright light suddenly hit his half open eyes. Debris suddenly flew towards him. Hunter stopped moving and Shawn was already to his feet. Everyone was staring wide eyed at the black Mercedes that had entered the room.

//T-That's Chris' car.// His vision faded more rapidly. //W-Why is Chris here?// Unable to hold on anymore, Evan succumbed to the need to sleep that had been lurking around him for quite some time.

***-*-***

All four men were at their feet and exchanging glares. Evan – being the fifth - was the only one not moving. Once Hunter had released his hold, Evan's legs simply dropped like lead onto the bed below. Chris' glare burned deep holes into both of the blonds standing before him. Randy tried to tame the anger that had quickly replaced his blood, but found it hard to do so once his icy blues landed on a naked, unconscious, bleeding and battered Evan Bourne.

"What the hell are you -"

Hunter's tongue was forced back into his mouth and down his throat. His teeth shifted back a bit as the sudden punch chipped away at the hard enamel. The large man was reeled towards the wall and hit it hard. Shawn turned to look at his friend only to be reminded - by a swift, hard upper kick to the gut - that they were other people in the room. His tea greens widened as he looked up at the blond glaring daggers back at him. Chris didn't give the man a chance to breathe as he hammered away at Shawn. Each punch echoed through the room. Hunter staggered to his feet and jumped onto Chris. He got a total of two hits in before Randy ceased his consciousness with a very realistic punt to the head. The thunderous clap that followed afterwords was the last and only thing The Game registered before being temporarily put out of this life.

As Randy went on to beat down Shawn, Chris hopped over to Evan. His pace inadvertently slowed as he stared in shock at what was once Evan Bourne. His entire small, bare frame was dyed in black and blue with touches of red. The brown eyes that Chris had once being enthralled by were swollen, bloody with the left one being completely welded shut. His wrists were still bleeding. The large welts on his back were deeper than the Grand Canyon and were draining a few drops of blood. Chris cautiously stood ahead of the younger man. His entire being racked with anger. He leaned over to touch Evan, but stopped short when he felt the warm liquid beneath his supporting hand. When his blue eyes landed on the bed below and the pool of blood it was soaked in, his last sense of humanity broke away. Chris ran towards Shawn, prying the blond away from Randy and unloaded a series of knuckle-baring punches onto the man's skull and face. Hunter silently stood to his feet and knocked Randy in the head with a nearby stray brick that was in the rubble the Mercedes had caused. Randy fell instantly. Hunter stalked Jericho and knocked the man in the back of his head. Chris staggered but refused to fall. He threw a wild punch to Hunter only to be caught by the man and sprawled out for Shawn. Shawn brought himself together and grabbed the iron rod – now coated in Bourne's blood – and struck Chris in the ribs. He got another one in shortly after.

"How's that feel Chris?!" He hit the blond again. Chris bit against the pain gaining devious chuckles from both Hunter and Shawn, "That's it! I taught you well huh?!" He laughed cruelly as the rod connected once more with Chris' sternum, "Just like I taught that bitch over there!"

Chris yanked himself free from Hunter's grasp and lounged towards Shawn. The older blond simply stepped aside and whacked Jericho in the head to bring the man down. Randy stirred a bit, only to meet a harsh stomp to his head courtesy of Hunter. It drove him face first into the rubble. Chris got to his knees and swung another wild punch. Shawn cracked the rod off his temple as if he were hitting a home run.

"Pick him up H. Let's do what we should have done all those years ago."

Hunter smiled cruelly as he picked up a near lifeless Chris Jericho. The man plopped back into his kneeling position. His breathing was heavy and staggered. His hateful glare still fixed on Shawn Michaels. Shawn barely reeled back far enough before a hard fist connected with his jaw from the left side. Hunter released Jericho, only to meet a swift kick to his balls – that was more or less aiming for his gut. Darkened hazels glared up at the towering blond. That trademark smile gave the perpetrator away.

"Jack! Go get Evan!"

Swagger complied and ran towards his friend. His eyes saddened as he looked down at Evan. As if handling a rare artifact, Jack carefully turned his friend onto his stomach. He jolted back a bit when he noticed Evan's lips moving. He leaned closer to the man's mouth – planting his ear a mere inches away from him.

"C-C-Chris..." Evan's voice was weak, low and drowned in pain.

Jack moved away as he gaped at Evan. //He's alive!// He checked on John – relived to find Randy helping and Chris finally getting to his feet. He searched the blood-stained bed for a key, and found it on the nightstand beside it. Without any further hesitation he quickly unlocked Evan's hands from the bed – a slight tinge of heart ache hit him when Evan simply went limp to the action.

"Don't worry Evan. We're here now. Everything's alright now." Stinging tears brimmed in his blue eyes. He fought them back, determined not to cry in front of his friend. It wasn't what Evan would want. His resolve broke once he felt Evan tense to his touch as he cradled the smaller man's upper body. Jack's voice cracked, "T-That's enough Evvy. Y-You don't have to fight anymore."

Shawn was down but Chris still felt it necessary to plunder the older man. He picked up the dazed man and repeatedly gave Michaels a taste of the hood of his car. After he bounced the man's skull off the Mercedes for the twelfth time, he moved Shawn to a standing position only to knock him down with another swift hard right. Ignoring the pain that threatened to rip his hands to shreds, Chris continued to feed Michaels more punches – opting to stay silent so as to conserve energy.

John and Randy spent their time trading blows with Hunter. The large man refused to go down. After a few more hits, Randy decided to use the iron rod. The cold metal connected squarely with Hunter's jaw – breaking it upon impact. His hazels rolled back into his skull as his eyelids fell shut. He fell instantly shortly after. A second was not spared for the two men because as soon as they exchanged a look of victory, the cracking sound made by bone clashing with bone alerted them to Jericho and Michaels. Both men ran over and pried Jericho away from Shawn.

"That's enough Jericho!" Randy bellowed in the man's ear only to get rewarded with a stray fist to the jaw.

"Stop it man! You got him! You got him!" John ducked as Chris reeled his hand back to land another bone breaking punch to Shawn's now disfigured face. "Jericho! He'll die if you keep this up!"

"That's the fucking intention!" Chris shoved John away and went back on the attack. Randy jumped in to pull him back once more. "Let me go damn it!"

John joined in and locked the man's right arm as Randy got his left. "Cool it! You'll kill him if you don't!"

Chris struggled against the two men, but with one being famous for strength and the other famous for python-like vices, he quickly realized he was going nowhere. He opted to comply with both men and quit his pointless struggle. Once he calmed down to a cooling level, John and Randy both released the man. Jericho's anger shakes soon subsided upon seeing the beaten men that lay before him. He stood up and walked over to Evan and Jack. Jack was sobbing heavily over the smaller man.

"Jack is he -" He stopped the words from coming out, and rephrased. "Is he alright?"

Jack slowly nodded. "B-But he's already unconscious. S -Sheer will is what's keeping him alive right now." He looked up at Chris, "W-We have to get him to a hospital."

"Already called the ambulance." Randy's soothing voice trailed in knocking away the foreboding silence. "I did it as soon as you gave me that address Jack."

Chris continued to stare silently at Evan. The feeling was weird. He was happy to see Evan alive, but still reeling with self-loathe and hate for being happy about the man's horrible condition. //How could I allow this to happen?// He slid his eyes down the man's body. It resembled the after math of year long torture. He had only been here for less than two or three hours yet, to Jericho, he looked as though he had been here probably for a year. Maybe more.

His voice caved under the immense mental pressure and downed a few points lower than a whisper, "I'm so sorry Evan." He slid off his shirt and – with the aid of Jack – put it on Evan. "You've suffered because of my cowardice." His blue eyes were calm, but extremely sorrowful. He gently pushed back a loose strand of short brown hair that had plastered onto Evan's forehead, "I promise you this will never happen again."

Evan's right eye was cracked open with his left open to a mere slit, but he was looking some where no one else could see. The fear still present in Bourne's deep browns and the way his body was tensing with every passing second racked a pain - that wasn't caused by the blows from the rod – through the bruised chest of the older blond.

Chris Jericho was known to be a man with a vocabulary that rivaled the Oxford dictionary. However, as he gazed sadly at the smaller man cradled in Swagger's arms and unconscious, the words he wanted to say, or maybe should have said did not come to Chris Jericho. His famed vocabulary went for naught as not one word – not even a syllable – found its way to the older man's tongue. //Maybe it's better not to speak right now.// And judging from the silence emitting from everyone else, it seemed he was not alone in that thought.

***-*-***

**Me: *bawling my eyes out* "Thank God! Thank God! Evan's safe! Unconscious but safe!!!" **

**Jericho: *staring silently at little Evvy* **

**Randy: *chewing on some gum* (once again I don't know where he got it from.)**


	14. Chapter 14

**This was a difficult chapter. I REALLY WANTED TO ADD MORE, but realistically people don't heal overnight. boo. Anyways, enjoy people's! Almost there (I'm talking about the end lol)**

**Okay... back to the story.**

***-*-*  
**

Two days. It had been two days since the incident, and Evan Bourne was still asleep. On Chris Jericho's orders, everyone involved was to get their own private rooms, and Doctors – handpicked by Chris – were the only ones allowed to look after the guys in recovery. It was a good strategy that kept the information channels down to a bare minimum. Sadly, however, the idea proved to be a double edged sword as it also incorporated private treatment for Shawn Michaels and Hunter.

Despite having a greater affinity to the idea of leaving both offenders in a deep ditch on the outskirts of town with their gaping wounds open for business, Chris had to bury his emotions for the greater good – ensuring that there was still a company to return to.

The older blond quickly exited his room in stealth like fashion. He walked over to Evan's room and quietly opened the door. The two men were separated by nothing more than a paper thin wall. As he walked closer to the sleeping man, Chris' mind could not help but wander off into a recent memory.

_***_

_Kicking and screaming. That's how the Doctor's received Chris Jericho. Upon arriving at the nearby hospital, Chris immediately summoned the Doctors he knew and trusted. It took them a while to reach the hospital, but even after they did, Chris refused to be looked over until Evan was out of harm's way. The younger man was whisked off to a separate emergency room and instantly treated upon arrival. Despite that, it had been almost six hours until Evan was proclaimed alive and in recovery. During those six hours, John, Randy and Jack had all been looked over by Jericho's Doctors. As for Hunter and Shawn, both men were taken to the local sections and looked over without any word of their situation reaching the ears of the four saviors. _

_It took almost everyone within range to finally get Jericho to lie down and be sedated. He was treated shortly after. Jack – being the healthiest out of everyone involved – was allowed to go back to his hotel room. Randy informed him to tell Cody and Ted about the situation (as if seven men of interest suddenly disappearing together did not arouse enough suspicion), and promised to be back soon. John was also allowed to leave, but decided to take a rest in the room Jericho was paying for, and also stayed around in case Evan woke up. Randy wanted nothing more than to go home, but Evan's condition and the Doctor's orders forced him to stay put. Jericho – having no real choice in the matter – also stayed overnight._

_Jericho woke up hours later and sneaked into Evan's room. He reached Evan's room only to be racked with heart ache upon seeing the man. He was attached to a truck load of machines, had tubes coming out of every vein, and was near mummified in bandages. However, despite his appearance, the younger man slept with a pseudo peaceful expression on his partially visible face. //Does he know that he was saved?// Chris cautiously walked in not to disturb Evan's slumber. No one deserved more rest than Evan right now. As he sat down beside Evan's bed, the door opened. He turned his head slowly, and grinned as the Doctor walked in. Jericho faced Evan, and gently stroked the exposed flesh of the younger man's cheek with the back of his hand._

"_It seems that in the little time that has passed since I last treated you you've simply multiplied the number of patients Jericho."_

"_I didn't hurt anyone." His small smile dropped, "Much."_

"_I never thought I'd see something like this again." The Doctor glanced down at the brunette, "It's almost a mirror reflection of when you were brought to me. You were also on the verge of death."_

_Chris clenched his teeth to the memory that tried its' best to seep in. "Is he really okay?"_

_The Doctor sighed, "Well, he's not as fit as a fiddle, but he's not dying either." He rested a strong hand on Chris' shoulder to add some reassurance. "Don't worry though. His wounds won't leave scars. Plus, they didn't get that far. The rape kit came up negative. All that those guys did was beat him unconscious."_

_Chris scoffed – hurting his ribs. "All they did huh? I'm beginning to wonder if it's right to even think like that."_

_The Doctor's droopy, sunken eyes dropped down onto Jericho, as he smiled "If by 'like that' you mean to be happy he's alive - then it is always right to think like that my friend." His tone dipped lower, "But that doesn't always mean it makes you feel any better." _

_Chris' hand stopped moving as he opted to just look at Evan without touching. "I guess so."_

_The Doctor patted his shoulder before turning to leave the room. "Just get some rest Jericho. Just because you weren't on the verge of death this time doesn't mean you weren't in range."_

_His blue orbs did not move from Evan's heavily wrapped face. His hand slid down to trace the outline of Evan's cast – stopping once he reached Evan's exposed fingers. He smiled gently at the sight. Thankfully some of the minor bruises were disappearing, and the sickening iodine color that had once dyed his skin was fading. //He's recovering. I can at least be happy about that.//_

_***_

He stared in solemn silence as his baby blues took in the image ahead of him. Evan Bourne was still asleep. Thankfully most of his bandages had come off – it was no longer a guess as to what Evan's face looked like at least – and according to the Doctors, the younger man would not have a single scar on his body from the ordeal. However, the stitches replaced most of the would-be scars.

The older man located a small chair in the room, pulled it to Evan's bedside, and sat down. In comparison, Evan looked healthier than Chris. The blond had not slept for two days as he was bogged down with worry and self-proclaimed guilt, and it showed heavily on his face. Putting aside the mammoth-sized bags under his eyes, Chris looked generally drained of all life. He slowly swept his eyes over the younger man, before those baby blues landed on Evan's arm. It was still in the cast.

A small sigh escaped Chris before he had time to rethink the action. //I'm so sorry Evan.// He gently traced the outline of the large cast, stopping once his tracing finger reached Evan's. The sight of the younger man's skin brought a smile to Chris' face. Between Evan's face and exposed – unbroken – arm, the man seemed to have completely lost the disgusting iodine color in favor of his usual milky-white-with-a-hint-of-tan skin tone. Another deflating sigh escaped Chris' thin lips as he withdrew his hand. He looked at Evan's – surprisingly peaceful – expression with weary cobalt eyes.

"I know you probably can't hear me right now," He paused – silently hoping that Evan would respond – and continued on in a grating voice, "but, I just want you to know how sorry I am Evan. This whole thing is my fault." His gaze slid down to Evan's exposed hand that was lying palm down on the bed. He gently wrapped his fingers over it, clenching down on the smaller man's hand, "I should have never been so harsh to you. It was cruel and you don't deserve to be treated like that. I'm sorry Evan. If I had just warned you about Shawn and protected you from him, then all this wouldn't have happened." He glanced up at Evan's face and then back on the sheets ahead. A wounded expression pasted on his face. "I know a measly apology can never make up for any of this, but I hope you can believe the sincerity of it. And, even though I don't deserve it," He hesitated for no reason in particular, "I'm asking that you can somehow forgive me."

Chris scoffed as his eyes landed on the hand he was holding. He gently ran an idle thumb over the top of Evan's hand in thought. //So smooth.// His eyes moved back down to the edge of the bed ahead of him. Heavy lids with silk woven gold spun lashes curtained by the second.

"It's sad isn't it? You had to be put into a near death state and almost get gang raped for me to finally stop making excuses and just simply love you. I'm even starting to wonder if I'm worth your love, Evan. " He slowly blinked – the act being more painful than normal – and spoke through clenched teeth "I let that _sicko_ get near you, and when you came to me all I did was push you right into his slimy hands. All this time I used my stupid past -that when I stop and think about is really trivial – as a shield Evan. I never wanted to get hurt again, so that's why I always left my emotions at the door when it came to other people. It eased the pain, but it wasn't the cure." He let out a silent breath, his voice lowering once again, "I even started fearing that I would end up doing to you the same things that Michaels did to me. But now I realize that I never had anything to fear in the first place." He looked up at Evan. The pain in his chest returned. It felt like a knife slowly cutting through his heart. "Really, all that was wrong was simply the fact that for the first time in years I had feelings for someone else. I had forgotten what it felt like to be in love. It had been such a long time since I felt like this to anyone that I got scared, and took out my cowardice on you." A small smile graced his hard expression. "You know, Orton may think it's because of the situation, and everyone else might think that too, but I'm really certain that this feeling's been around a lot longer than that Evan." He drew in a deep silent breath before leaning in closer to the younger man. His face was a mere inches away. His eyes glazed as he stared calmly at the younger man's face. "I love you."

"Assaulting a sleeping man Jericho? Have you really been reduced to _this_?"

Jericho froze, processed and then turned around in his seat. His smile curling into a wicked grin, "I'm doing fine Edge. Thanks for asking. No need to be so worried."

Before Adam could retaliate a sudden shout came from outside the room. In the blink of an eye, a brunette had entered the room, Adam had been face planted into the door frame he was causally leaning on, and Chris' hand was swatted away from Evan.

A deep frown craved into Jericho's forehead. //On after the other!// "Hey what the -!" He roared, but stopped short once a pair of angry – slightly teary – cerulean eyes hit his face. His frown softened along with his harsh tone, "What's wrong with you Rhodes? Did Orton die or something?"

//Unbelievable! He can still be sarcastic even now?!// Cody huffed angrily, "I hope you're fucking happy Jericho! You see what you caused now?! What if Evvy never wakes up?! Huh?! He could have been -"

"But he wasn't!" Not giving Cody a chance to think, Chris continued, "I'm sorry for what had happened Rhodes. And to answer your question, _no_ I'm not happy. I'm nowhere near it. And I want Evan to wake up just as badly as you do. "

Cody toned his anger down a notch, but kept it visible, "Oh... well..." He slumped his shoulders as he looked down at the seated older man – noting the sadness that resided in his eyes, "Look, I'm just worried. It's been two days, and he's not moving. I just want him to get better you know - Just be the same old Evan we all know."

"You're afraid this whole thing will change him huh?"

Cody stared with astonishment written on his face. It told Jericho that he was right on the mark.

The older man tried to muster up something resembling a smile, but it didn't get to that point. "I'm worried too Rhodes. 'Will he get up', has been woefully replaced by 'will he be the same once he gets up'. I wasn't there to protect him. He had to fend for himself." The struggling smile vanished completely. "You know, he once told me about the guys at ECW. They used to pick on him a lot. Then Swagger came along and defended him."

Cody simply stared in silent acknowledgment. It was rare, after all, to see Jericho talk in such a humble tone.

"He told me that it wasn't about him being able to defend himself. It was just that he got tired of doing it all alone." Jericho scoffed, "At the time I wrote it off as a pompous, wanna-be-macho act. But now I realize he was right. Against those two guys, he defended himself when no one else was there to do the job, and looking at him you can see that he's probably very tired. Where everyone else, me included, would have given up, Evan bit the nail and fought hard." His eyes swept over to Evan's face. "It's because of that I think he might just be able to come out of all this okay. And this time, whenever it gets too much for him, he'll always have me to do the fighting for him."

Any words that could have been said fled from the mind of Cody Rhodes. From the first day he stepped foot in the WWE, Chris Jericho had been a man he resented with every fiber in his being. The only reason he acknowledged the man's presence was because he had once saved Randy back when his lover's brat act almost cost him his career. Jericho was the one who saved him from getting the boot. However, the arrogant Chris Jericho that Cody had come to know clashed heavily with the broken, solemn man that sat before him. Chris Jericho had changed. It was only a matter of time before anyone knew if it was for better or worse.

"Uh, I don't mean to interrupt here, but you need to come with me Jericho."

Chris grinned as he stood to his feet. His eyes washed over Cody's face before he turned to walk to Adam. "If Reno is within range of my field of vision I will leave immediately. I'd rather not indulge in any of his sexual activities." He looked up at Adam as he walked past the man. "After all, I'm not that desperate."

Adam's trademark smirk splashed across his face as he slowly shook his head, "Wow. Real mature Jericho. Real fucking mature."

The two left the room with Copeland closing the door behind him. It had taken Cody a while to finally take the seat that Jericho had left behind. He sighed heavily as he looked at his friend. Due to being used to seeing Evan lively and smiling, the sleeping younger man looked dead, but strangely peaceful. Cody smiled a bit. //He must be having some good dreams.// A small chuckle followed. //If only he knew about Jericho's feelings. I'm pretty sure he'd pass out again from the shock and embarrassment.//

His happy expression fell instantly once shock filled up the skin of his face. A pair of sleepy brown eyes stared right at him. What started as a small smile wearily matured to a bigger and brighter one. Cody's jaw unhinged slightly as he watched his friend let out a small yawn and look around to get an idea of his surroundings – blinking at every second. Those large browns fell right back on Cody, brows creased in worry.

"Hey Codes." His voice was hoarse and soft, "Where am I?"

***-*-***

All five men stood in the small bedroom. Out of the four saviors, Cena's room was the smallest simply because Chris did not feel the man deserved anything more. He was still in two minds about Cena and his involvement in the current situation, and it showed heavily in his actions and on the look of displeasure that crossed his face every time the two locked eyes. Jack was peacefully seated on the bed beside John. Cena did not need to lie down, but he was anyways. Randy was seated in a corner chair – finding the shadows more appropriate as a means to express his very unhappy aura. He was sex deprived and annoyed with his slow healing injuries. Adam stood manning the door in case unwanted ears came along to take a listen. Chris stood in the center of the ring that was formed. Thankfully, Jack had brought some clothes for the men - hospital gowns were not cool in the least. Putting aside that fact, Jericho look on intensely.

"So, why was I invited to this dick meeting?"

Randy scowled as a little bit of light hit his sleepy eyes, "I think John wants to explain to us why exactly he let Shawn walk off with Evan."

The three blonds and the brunette looked right at John. He gave a small dimpled smile – bringing a slight blush to Jack's face – before dropping the ruse for a more serious expression.

"As Randy put it, I let this happen."

"You fucking dick weed!" Chris stepped forward – fists clenched and teeth bared, only to have Adam rest a commanding hand on his shoulder and pull him back.

John looked over at a fire-breathing Jericho, "I didn't expect this to happen. Had I known Shawn would pull this trick I would have never let him get within breathing range of Evan."

Randy sighed, "But didn't I tell you about Chris' history with the man? You knew Cena, so why?"

"It's because I fucked his boyfriend." Everyone looked at Chris – John glared, "You all know I'm right. It's not uncommon for Cena to result to primal tactics to get back at someone. If fists and threatening words don't work, why not take a page out of someone else's book. Isn't that right Cena?"

John clenched his teeth, "Isn't it funny how you can always make everything seem to be about you?"For lack of any retaliation, Chris remained silent. John continued, "I didn't do what I did to get back at you. Unlike you Jericho, I know my flaws, and instead of trying to pretend to be perfect, I'd much rather flaunt them. Jack went to you for comfort because he wasn't getting any from me. I didn't blame either of you then, and I still don't, but I don't like the way you treated him. That's still the beef between us, but I'm not so evil that I'd use an innocent kid like Evan to try to get back at you. You know for a fact that when I have no other option, I simply resort to baring bigger fist, and harder hits than the other guy."

Annoyed, Randy spoke gruffly, "_And?_ So why did you do it?"

A sigh escaped Cena, "Jericho was a dick to the kid. He treated him badly and unlike all of you I couldn't sit back and watch Evan suffer like that. I mean he even thought _he_ was doing something wrong, and that was why Jericho didn't like him. I bet none of you even knew that he asked Cody how to teach him the art of seduction, because he believed that Jericho didn't like virgins, and so he had to either gain some experience or at least know the tricks of the trade." Everyone's silence put John on the mark. "So when Shawn showed an interest, and Evan responded positively to it, I decided to not ignore him, and try to help those two out."

"You led him, knowingly, into the hands of that rapist?" Adam cocked an eyebrow, "I don't believe you man. That's fucked up!"

John shot the blond a short, but highly intense glare. "What's fucked up is that Jericho did _nothing_ to prevent it! He saw Shawn making moves, and he sat back and let him!" Adam swallowed hard. "But, I will admit that I should have known better than to trust Michaels. When Evan wanted to go to the night gym sessions, I knew he was just looking for a way to get within range of Jericho. I didn't want that to happen, and when I learned that Shawn also went, I couldn't have been happier. I knew if Shawn was around then the chances of Evan and Jericho getting close was less than zero."

"Why were you so adamant about not giving Jericho a chance?"

"I'm not blind Orton. You're not either. We all knew that Jericho wasn't going to make amends with the kid. You could see the lust in his eyes every time he crossed paths with Evan. I didn't want him to take Evan only to just rip his heart out and give it back to him beaten and bloody later. If he was going for Evan he'd have to earn it. And want to keep him after he did." Randy slightly tilted his head, and sighed heavily in understanding. John flicked his eyes back on Jericho. "So I let Shawn escort the kid to the gym. I had my own reasons too. Jack was feeling bummed, and I promised to spend more time with him."

In unison, everyone thought. //We knew it.// John smiled slightly – almost envisioning their exact thoughts, before continuing on.

"Instead of accepting Evan, Jericho picked a fight with Shawn, hit Evan and got suspended because of it. When Evan heard, I'm sure you must have seen that dejected look on his face. When I saw him in the lounge room prior to that, he was crying his eyes out. At the time he was just bummed out with everything. He didn't know about Jericho's suspension at the time, but he was still sad about and worried over the guy." He looked down at his sheets, "Moments later, I see Shawn looking for Evan. I told him where he was, and the rest is history."

Silence enveloped the room as everyone focused on anything that was near the ground. Chris looked up at John and then to everyone else in a clockwise manner. When his blue eyes landed on Edge only to have the man look away upon contact, he decided to break the silence.

"I know it's my fault Cena." John looked over at him. Randy and Jack did nothing more than slide their eyes to him. Adam looked ahead. "However, why didn't anyone tell me about all this? Why did I have to find out moments before Evan passed out in a room naked and broken beneath a greedy ogre named Hunter, and his master Michaels?"

John clenched his jaw, "What would you have done if you knew Jericho?"

"I would have stopped him you dope!"

"And? After you stopped him, what next?"

Jericho bit back his anger. //Yeah. I would have just let him loose again.//

Noting Jericho's silence John continued on, "Did anyone of you know that Evan went along with Shawn only because he didn't want him to get back with Jericho?" Everyone shook their heads in unison. "Of course you don't. Despite being handed absolutely no hope, he still held on to the possibility that maybe Jericho liked him, even if it meant being a fool for all the lies he got from you guys."

"Now wait a minute Cena-"

"No Randy, you wait!" John leaned forward to get Jericho in full view. "Evan knew you all were just feeding him shit about Jericho! He knew that if Jericho really liked him, then he'd have come along and said it, because that's the kind of man Y2J is. He faces things head on, and tells it like it is. An honest man! But that idea was shattered by your cowardice Jericho. You hid behind a past that Evan didn't even know about and then used that past as a reason not to be with him! The kid had no fucking idea, and you were happy just punishing him when you knew just that!" He seethed in anger, "Now I'll apologize again for letting Shawn get close, but when compared to the alternative – when given this wimp Chris Jericho as an alternative – I had no choice!"

Randy glared angrily at John, "There's no need to go that low Ce -"

"Randy!" Everyone set their eyes on Chris in shock at his outburst. "He's right."

After the initial shock wore off, Randy opted to speak in a more hastened tone, "But Jericho, he -"

"If it was Cody" Chris' low voice cut into Randy's sentence. "If it was Cody in this hospital, on that bed all because you let Dave – knowing what he's like after all that shit he put you through – go ahead and take him, beat him, and scared the shit out of him all because you hid like a coward under the title of trauma! If someone told you that truth, and it was Cody here, wouldn't you agree? Wouldn't you agree to being a total dick? A wimp not worthy to be in the same race?!" He ground his teeth as his eyes narrowed at Randy, "Wouldn't you feel like you let him down when he was really the only guy to ever believe in you without a moment's hesitation?"

Randy slumped back in his chair in silence.

Chris looked at Cena, "I think it's safe to say we all had our hands in this, and Evan paid the ultimate price. He almost paid more than that, but thankfully he didn't." He heaved a deep sigh, "I think you all know by now where I stand. I'm in love with Evan, and once he gets out of here, I'm telling him everything." He smiled slightly, "Whether or not he stays after that is up to him. But I've already decided to do whatever it takes to keep him, just like he did for me."

Adam smiled childishly as he patted Chris on the shoulder, "Well said Jericho! Never thought I'd see the day you'd spill your guts in front of other people. It's gotta be mortifying right now huh? Your pride will never -"

A swift punch to the gut stopped his rant. Chris smirked deviously as the man buckled over. Randy and Cena gave a low chuckle, and Jack laughed heartily.

***-*-***

**Me: Ah. At last I can see some JeriBourne floating around in the air.**

**Jericho: *blasting his anger at me* "WHERE?! ALL I SAW WAS ME **_**ALMOST **_**KISSING EVAN ONLY TO HAVE EDGE COME IN AND DESTROY THE MOMENT!!!"**

**Randy: *eating a pancake* (where the hell did he get that from?!) "Well, think about it. If you attacked him in that hospital bed it'd probably hurt him because he isn't fully healed. And besides he was asleep for crying out loud."**

**Jericho: *glaring daggers at Randy* "Oh? What was that? This coming from the man who uses sex as a way to wake his sleeping boyfriend up in the mornings! You shouldn't even bother Orton! You're nowhere NEAR credible!" *turns his anger at me* "FIX THIS WRITER GIRL!!! GIVE ME EVAN – IN LESS PAIN – AND LET ME DO HIM ALREADY!"**

**Me: "I knew it! You don't love him!"**

**Randy: "Love and sex go hand in hand. One can't live without the other."**

**Jericho: *nodding* "So true Orton. You are absolutely correct."**

**Me: *mumbling* "Didn't you just say he wasn't credible?"**

**Jericho: *strangling me to death* "LESS TALKING! MORE WRITING!!! NOW!"**

**Randy: *now eating a bowl of soup* (huh? I don't have any soup in my house!) "Stop it Jericho. She needs to be alive for the story to go on."**

**Jericho: *glaring at me as he releases his hold* "When the story's over, if I don't get what I want, you're dead writer girl!"**

**Me: *trembling in a corner* "Okay...Okay..."**


	15. Chapter 15

**Heads up to the readers: The next two or so chapters will be written in normal font, but will be about events that took place in the past. So don't be surprised when you don't see Cody, or Jack, or Evan. They weren't around then. ALSO, once again, I won't be following the good ol' kayfabe. Maybe a little, but NOT a lot. I'm sorry if you don't like.**

**Okay....back to the story.**

***-*-***

Three days had now passed, and despite having lost enough blood to sustain another person - maybe two – being covered everywhere in bruises and cuts, and still having his arm in a sling, Evan Bourne was finally released from the hospital. He was driven – by Jack – to the hotel where the men had relocated to, due to the next RAW showing taking place elsewhere. It was a long drive, but in Evan's mind it beat being stuck in the hospital. By the time the two men arrived at the hotel it was already nightfall. For the first time in his life, Bourne had gotten his own hotel room.

"T-This is mine?" The smaller man walked into the polished room with bright brown eyes and his famous childish smile splashed across his face. "This is so cool Jackie!"

Jack leaned his large shoulder onto the door frame and gave Evan a pleased look, "You like huh. Jericho got it for you. He said something about you telling him that you never had a room before. Something along those lines."

Evan's smile slowly dropped as he looked at his friend. "Oh. C-Chris did huh." The brunette sat on the bed – head hung low.

Stunned by his friend's lifeless reaction, Jack walked into the room and sat beside him friend. "Hey, hey Evvy. What's with the deadness?" He wrapped his arm around Evan's slumped shoulders and gave the smaller man a quick tight squeeze, "Come on now. Aren't you happy? I mean _Jericho_ got this for you, so don't you think that" //Wait. I probably shouldn't tell him what Jericho said.// "uh, that, he _probably_ likes you? So now all you have to do is tell him your feelings right?"

" Maybe." A small sigh followed, "But, it's not about that Jackie."

"Then what is it about? What's stopping you man?"

Evan bit down on his lower lip. The carpet proved to be the best thing to look at right now as his expression twisted under the pressure of overwhelming worry. //I should just tell him right?// His eyes narrowed a bit as he tried to open a telepathic line with the floor. //I mean he paid for the hospital, and now he's given me my own room, so by all rights maybe he does love me. So it's okay to tell him right?// He inhaled deeply, //Cody said it too right?//

_***_

_Cody stared wide-eyed at his friend. //H-He...// _

"_Evan you're awake?!"_

_Evan looked at his friend in confusion, "Y-Yeah." He lifted his unbroken hand and rested it on his forehead. "But where am I? The last thing I remember was Chris' car breaking down the walls."_

_Cody smiled, "You're in the hospital Evvy! Jericho and Randy went for you and they saved you!"_

_Evan's face sold shock with hints of disbelief. //Chris came for me?// "H-How did he know where I was?"_

"_Well, I don't really know how, but it seems like Jericho somehow figured out that's where Shawn would have taken you. And then he went for you. He carried you here, and got his doctors to treat you." _

_Evan's face immediately went beet red. Cody's smile steadied on his face, but downed once his deep cerulean's raked over his friend's bandaged body. Evan slowly sat up a bit to try and get a better look at his very unfamiliar surroundings. _

_//So this is a hospital room huh?// He scanned the bland walls, the titled floor and the overall whiteness of the room. //It needs some color.// Evan mustered up a gentle smile as he eyed his body. He trailed his fingers over his face and neck area. The bandages were gone so, in Evan's mind, he did not look that beaten up. Cody's eyes finally went back on his friend's face, and he stared at Evan with worry mixed with a hint of relief. The young Rhodes felt the same as Chris did – he was happy to see Evan alive, but felt a tinge of self disgust at that fact. What kind of person is happy to see their friend wrapped in bandages and in a hospital? Despite his inner turmoil, the sight of Evan smiling as brightly as ever, gave Cody a bit of hope. //Maybe he's not really hurt by all this.//_

"_Evvy, I'm so glad you made it." His lower lip quivered a bit, but he bit down on it, "I should have been there Evvy! I shouldn't have left you alone with that creep! I'm so sorry!"_

_Evan laughed shortly, "Don't sweat it Cody." His small smile grew instantly, "I'm fine! See?"_

_Cerulean eyes raked over the bandages that stemmed from Evan's upper torso, ending at his ankles. //He's fine?// It was true that Evan Bourne was sitting upright – without the aid of pillows – and smiling without a care in the world, but the young Rhodes could not shake the tremors of anger that welled up and shook through him. _

"_You call this fine Evan?!" His outburst came as a shock to both Bourne and himself, "How can you be fine?! Weren't you scared?! Those guys were about to rape you Evan! And then do God knows what after! You lost enough blood to pump three hearts Evvy! You almost died!" He stood to his feet – eyes glazed with rage. "How can you just sit there and act as if nothing happened?! Huh?! If Jericho and Randy hadn't come along do you honestly think you'd be here?!"_

"_I had given up Cody." The calmness in his voice worked wonders on Cody's rage. The younger man simply fell back into his seat. Evan looked at his sheets – both his smile and tone fell. "After I heard about Chris' suspension, and about the cause, I honestly thought it was over. I thought he hated me. So I decided to go see him you know. Maybe try and talk to him. Tell him I was sorry. I was willing to do everything it took just so that he wouldn't hate me." His eyes stung with fought back tears, "But instead, I went with Shawn! All I could think about was how much more distant Chris was getting with every passing second I wasted with him! And then I ended up on a bed with Hunter slobbering over me!" His breath hitched, "Was I scared? Of course I was! I was scared of Shawn! I was scared of Hunter! I was scared that I would never see Chris again! I was scared of dying!"_

_Cody bit down on some choice words and opted to stay silent and simply offer a soothing one arm hug to his friend._

"_But you know what scared the hell of me most Cody?" He looked up wearily at his friend, "I was scared of losing the one thing I had saved for Chris. And every time one of those guys got close, I fought back. But they hit harder. I tried not to give up, but when it hit me that Chris was probably mad at me for causing him to get that suspension, I did." His expression saddened. "I didn't think anyone was coming to save me. The thought never crossed my mind. Even though I had my friends, I had selfishly told you guys to stay away. Being in that room with no flame of hope... I've never been so lonely in my life Cody."_

"_Evvy." Cody cooed gently, "Don't say that."_

"_It's true." He cracked a faint smile, "But then Chris came. I remember thinking why he was there. Wasn't he supposed to be mad at me? Why would he come?" The smaller man scoffed, "But then I remembered that he and Shawn were once together. Shawn might have said they were never getting back together, but who's to say Chris felt that way? It's stupid I know, but for a mere moment I thought he had come for Shawn. I honestly thought he was gonna leave me there."_

" _Evvy." Cody sighed heavily. His thin lips morphed into a smile, "Why did you think that? Weren't you the one going on about how nice Jericho is? Didn't you love him enough to know that he wouldn't be so cruel?"_

_Evan thought in silence before answering. His large eyes locked on his friend's face, "I know he's nice, but, now that I think about it, maybe I never really loved him Cody."_

_Cody's jaw fell. //Whoa, whoa, whoa!// He drew back the outburst of angry dribble that threatened to lash out from his mouth, and stopped to reconsider his next choice of words._

"_Evan, what are you talking about?" His brows creased slightly, "If you're afraid this whole thing might make Jericho look down on you then he really doesn't deserve you. But you shouldn't be afraid of that Evvy."_

"_It's not that." Evan looked back at his sheets. "Why do you love Randy, Cody?"_

_Cody hesitated due to the unexpected question. "Um, well, I told you Evvy. I love him because he's nice, and sweet, and loving, and he is attractive so that's in there too."_

"_But Ted's just like that."_

"_Uh...yeah, I guess." He shook his head quickly to refocus, "What does this have to do about you not loving Jericho anymore?"_

"_To me, Chris is the nicest, sweetest, kindest, and most attractive guy I've ever met." His eyelids curtained slightly, as his voice lowered. "Aren't the reasons I like Chris the same reasons I like my friends?"_

_//Oh. I get it now.// Cody sighed dramatically, "Evvy. You once told me that compared to us, Chris was totally different, and that's why you love him. So why are you -"_

"_Shawn said if I don't lust after Chris and want him like that everyday till it hurts then I'm not in love with him." He looked up at Cody with a hurt look in his eyes, "But, I really like Chris. A lot more than anyone else. But because I don't want him all the time then I can't be in love with him. And he said because I can't take Chris then Chris won't be able to love me."_

_//The hell?! That bastard went and fed him this!// Cody gave a sheepish smile, "Look Evan. First off, Jericho doesn't want anyone taking him."_

"_Why not? I think I can take him." A flash of determination marred Evan's face. "Just tell me what I'm taking him from, and I'll take him."_

_//Oh my God!// Cody fought back the urge to face palm himself. //I have to mince the words more.// "Listen. First off, you're a virgin Evvy. It's normal for you to not really have intense...uh...sexual desires for Jericho." //This is too embarrassing to explain.// He sighed, "So it's not a bad thing that you don't want him twenty four seven. Do you understand what I'm saying?"_

_Evan remained in silent thought for a short while. "I think so." He slightly tilted his head to one side, "But I still don't get why I can't take him."_

"_Well..." Cody paused. "You see, 'taking' means 'being the one on top' so to speak. An example would be me and Randy."_

"_But aren't you always saying that you're at the bottom, Cody?"_

_//Moving on to plan Z.// "Evan, if you want to take Jericho, then you have to do what Randy does."_

_Evan all but gaped at his friend as his eyes widened in shock, "I can't have sex with you Cody! Think about how much it'd hurt Randy! And besides I don't know the first thing about sex."_

"_That's -!" He gritted his teeth, reining in his anger, "Exactly... what I mean! You-don't-know- anything, so you-can't-take-Jericho! He'd have to be the one to take you!" His face burned with anger, "Do you understand now?"_

_Evan blinked a bit to process. His face instantly went red. "Oh...you mean...he'd...." He bumped a pointed finger against his open palm. _

"_Yes Evvy." Cody sighed before radiating a comforting smile, "So, don't go thinking that you don't love him. Trust me, you do. And you're probably the only one who can love Jericho. And even though I've been pretending otherwise," Cody gave Evan a gentle pat on his un-bandaged shoulder, "I think it's time you too get on with loving each other. Okay?"_

"_I can't Cody." Cody's smile dropped. Evan dropped his eyes to his sheets. "What if he just gets mad at me again like last time? I don't think I could recover from that."_

_Cody slowly shook his head, "Evan, let me just shoot you some advice here." Shy brown eyes looked up at him, "Go and remind him that you love him, and if he decides to go asshole on you, I want you to kick his butt, and walk away. It's not going to be easy, but what was that thing you always used to say?" Cody smirked deviously, "As long as you...come on tell me the rest."_

_Evan's smile grew quickly "As long you keep thinking positive, good things will happen." _

"_That's it."_

_Both men burst into a loud laughter. Evan stopped shortly because of the constricting bandages around his ribs. He leaned back onto his pillows and closed his eyes almost instantly. Cody opted to stay silent and continue watching over his sleeping friend. _

_***_

"Evan?"

Evan braced into an upright seating position at the sound of the near gravel tone that called him back to the current situation. He scanned the room in robot-like fashion before his eyes landed on the blond beside him. He cracked a smile in an effort to counter the sudden waves of pseudo shock that had come over him.

"Oh, yeah." He snapped to, "What were you saying?"

Jack sighed sadly, "Evan, if you're worried about Jericho not wanting you after all this, then I hate to say it buddy, but if that's the case then he really doesn't deserve you."

"No. I don't think that at all."

"Then what's stopping you?"

"Stopping me? From what?"

//Why do I even bother trying to get through his dense cloud?// "Are you going to go and tell Jericho that you love him?"

"Yeah."

His sudden reaction caught Jack off guard and soon the blond found himself with a bag full of retaliations that he no longer needed. "Ah, okay. So what's the problem?"

"There isn't any." He gave a small smile, "Well, I just don't want to mess up like last time."

"_You_ didn't mess up Evvy! He did! Remember? _He _kicked _you _out!"

"_Yeah."_ Evan gave a small pout. "But wouldn't you do that if someone you just met suddenly said they love you?"

//Well that is one way to think about it.// "Okay I give. But just go bare teeth okay Evvy. You have to just go in there and tell him."

"I plan to."

Pleased with his friend's brightened mood, Jack stood to his feet and gave a long stretch of his arms before heading to the door. He turned slightly to give Evan another smile before leaving the room. With his friend gone, Evan marched over to his small suitcase – that Cody had so nicely packed for him – and dragged it away from the door area. He sat back on his bed before finally giving into the charms of the comfy mattress. //Well, I better go and find him.// He smiled at nothing in particular as the cream colored ceiling looked back at him. In less than a second Evan's body tensed. //Huh?// He frantically looked around the room, but remained strangely confined to the bed. //Why can't I get up?// Panic started to set in. Cold sweat beads trailed down his skin as he made pathetic attempts to fight the invisible force that had suddenly rendered his muscles useless. //I-It's just like-// Upon sudden realization, the brunette shouted at the top of his lungs – his voice twisting with agony – only to be knocked with silence instead of noise. //What the hell's going on?!// The window to his left seemed to be moving away, but the rest of the room was getting closer. Evan shifted his frightened eyes to the ceiling – it was still in plain view. He looked around the room, wheezing and gasping for air that had instantly gone scarce. When the fact that he was alone had settled into his brain, Evan felt instantly sick. The thick, choking scent of blood mixed with salty sweat slipped repeatedly over his odor receptors. //What's wrong with me? Somebody help me!//

As if on cue and reading Evan's desperate thought, the door opened. The sight of a twitching Evan whose entire face was dyed in shock and soaked in sweat hit the blond hard. He quickly dropped his bags and ran over to the smaller man. Evan was staring wide eyed at him with his lower lip trapped in the enamel prison of his upper teeth. He was breathing harder than necessary. His pupils had shrunk to a size no bigger than a speck and he looked to be mentally trapped somewhere else.

"Evan!"

The younger man remained silent, but thrashed weakly about as if fighting against something unseen. The older blond – now seated right beside the brunette – grabbed Evan's shoulders and shook him with force. Evan's eyes still stared unblinkingly at the ceiling. //I have no choice then!// In what could be described as an act played in fast forward, Evan's line of vision returned to the room, but his shock was replaced with a new reason – blond hair and tan skin was where the ceiling would have been and a pleasing pressure was suddenly applied to his lips. Once the warm, moist feel that had graced his lips drew back, all of Bourne's senses were right back in the hotel room.

His head felt light and dizzy for some reason, and his eyes were almost hurting to open any further. "W-What?" His speech sounded slurred – even to him. "W-Who?"

A low calming voice trailed in, "I think I'd really like to get used to this." Worry marred the sky blues that raked over Evan's beet red face, "Are you okay Evan?"

//Huh?// Bourne blinked. //Isn't that-// He shot to a sitting position. "C-Chris?!"

Jericho laughed softly at Evan's comical reaction, "Yeah it's me. You shouldn't jump up like that."

//W-Why is Chris-// Evan quickly covered his mouth, and slowly released it. "I-I'm so sorry."

He cocked an eyebrow, "For what?"

A hurt puppy look sat right on Evan's face, "I-I called you by your first name."

"Yeah. I heard."

Evan downed his voice, "I'm sorry."

Chris scoffed, "You know, I only like hearing it from one person." The confused look on Evan's face brought a smile to Chris' lips, "That's you, Evan."

The former blush returned to Evan's face as he gazed up at Chris Jericho's serene expression. His heart started racing a mile a minute. Chris stared at Evan with a small smile on his face, before deciding to go and lock the room door. Once he returned, Evan was still looking at him with an overall happy expression dyed in a light shade of red. The blond sat down on the bed beside Bourne. An alien silence hovered above the two men.

"C-Chris," Evan's unsure tone betrayed his joyful expression, but it got the older man's attention. "I just...I love you. Still."

//Still?// "That's good to know." //Spit it out Jericho!// He swallowed discreetly, "I love you too Evan." Had he been equipped with an artificial pacemaker, it would have died at this point.

Words failed Evan momentarily as he gave his best to try and gather his thoughts as they ran about with no direction. Chris let out a loud breath and opted to look at the closed door in deep thought. //Don't chicken out now. Just tell him.// After a long pause in breathing, he threw a serious yet saddened gaze at Evan.

"I've been a horrible person to you Evan, and I have to apologize for that."

Evan smiled weakly, "It's okay Chris. You didn't mean anything by it."

"And that's why I have to apologize, because I did mean something by it." When Evan didn't respond, Jericho continued. "I think you know about my reputation when it comes to relationships. I only had sex with people because it offered a temporary escape from my past problems. I never put any of my emotions into anything I did, because to me it would have led to heartache."

From the pained expression on Jericho's face, Evan opted to remain silent. He decided to give Chris his undivided attention without cutting in with any remarks. Chris paused for a long second, mulling over his choice of words before finally concluding the right course of action to take in the current situation.

"I'm sorry that it's taken me this long Evan, but it's time you knew everything about me." His brows creased slightly as he cringed at the flashbacks that quickly invaded his mind. His baby blues bore deep into Evan's brown eyes, "Whatever you decide after will never be held against you."

***-*-***

**Me: "AT LAST!!!!! AT FLIPPING LAST!!!!!" *rubs hands in an evil way* "Jericho can FINALLY spill his past!"**

**Randy: *drinking coffee* "I say he should just skip over the past and just go for it already."**

**Me: *grabbing the donut Randy was aiming for* "First off, you need to STOP EATING SO DAMN MUCH!" *sitting on chair* "And second, it's important for Jericho to tell Evan about his past. It builds the relationship. Right Jericho?"**

**Jericho: *glaring at me* "I'm...at...my...limit!"**

**Me: *turning away pretending not to hear* "Ah yes. Research paper. Research paper."**

**Jericho: *being held back by Randy* "LET ME AT HER! LET ME AT HER!!!!!"**


	16. Chapter 16

**If you didn't the memo, this is all in the past, and won't be COMPLETELY adhering to kayfabe. Okay? I'm sorry if you don't like that, and I will REALLY try to keep some things (like the time line) in check, but not everything. **

**Okay...back to the story.**

***-*-***

As the son of a famed Hockey player, Chris Jericho had a somewhat enviable childhood. When drawn against the greatness that is the WCW, Jericho's childhood went for squat. Upon first arriving through the doors of the company and into the squared ring, Chris was treated as many of the young guys were – he was the water boy for the jocks. Respect was expected from you, but you weren't guaranteed to be getting any. The wide gap between young up comers, and the elites – as dubbed by the new guys – grew wider with every passing show. If one put out five stars in the ring, you could expect the elites to put out twice that amount – thrice at some moments. This was the cause for hostility in most of the young guys backstage, and it resulted in them leaving early, or defining themselves to remain stagnant.

Chris Jericho was not one of those young men. At age twenty five Chris became an integral part of the WCW. It was a dream within a dream for most men his age. What separated Chris from the herd was his bonified ambitious side. Ambition was something Chris was born with. He wasn't greedy enough to do the dirtiest of dirty just to get ahead, but he was brave enough to do just that. Whenever an elite put out ten times in the ring, Chris Jericho came with a multiple of two to add to their efforts whenever his name was called. Now one year below the thirty mark, Chris Jericho was classified as an elite – by a few good men - but his too-kind-for-words attitude drove him right back to the starting point in the eyes of the company.

Backstage was a haven for Chris as it proved to be the perfect place to simply sit and talk with friends whenever the heat got to high. It was also there that Jericho's bright blue eyes first caught a glance of a certain blond. Not only was he a man, he was older, and he was an elite to top it all off - three features that shot Chris' gaze into another direction once he realized the impossibility of it all. However, as the man sauntered past with his straight, blond locks gently swaying in motion and the soft clinking sound of his long earrings mixing melodiously with the heavy clops of his heeled boots, his baby blues betrayed him cruelly as they slid away from the safety of the floor and back up to the passing man. Once a playful smile graced the older man's tanned skin, Chris felt his senses downing by the millisecond. Suddenly – and without warning – he and that man were the only two people in the arena. Probably even the world.

"Chris! Hey Chris!"

The young blond blinked rapidly as he registered the empty hallway he was staring at. //Who was that?// Certain that his heavy heart beats were echoing through the room, Chris tried to drown the noise by forcing a loud sigh.

"Hey man, are you okay?"

Chris coughed up a shaky smile, "Uh yeah T. I'm good man."

Lance Evers – T as Chris had come to label him as – was the man known as Lance Storm to the people in the industry. Initially starting out as enemies, over the many years they knew each other, Lance's laid-back-guy-with-tough-exterior-attitude eventually grew on Chris who was more the assertive and strive-to-be-as-close-to-perfect-as-possible kind of guy. The man was only a year older than Chris, but he acted more like Jericho's father than a friend his age. It was for this reason that Lance was able to do what many had found slightly difficult in achieving – understanding Chris Jericho.

"You look pale." Lance let out a raspy laugh that sounded as though his voice were drowned in whiskey, "Did you see that ghost hovering around here again?"

Chris raised an eyebrow in faux confusion, "What ghost?"

"You know," The taller man waltzed around Chris' unmoved stance with fingers streamlining the air as he held his hands out – palms down – ahead of his face, "Long ago, in this very arena, there was once a guy here who tried to save some kid from danger. But then he suddenly started bleeding from the ears and shit, and when the kid looked at him, he died. Now he roams around looking for someone else to pass his ability to see dead people on to, so he can go to the afterlife."

Chris scoffed as he gave his friend a look of pity, "_You_ need a life."

Displeased with his failed attempt to get a reaction out of his friend, Lance opted to amp up his scare game by turning off the locker room lights. His efforts garnered nothing more than a few curse words, and a punch to the gut. It had slipped the young man that the locker room was by no means private. By the time the lights came back on Chris was already seated and taking off his boots. Lance sighed heavily and walked over to his friend, dropping his entire weight down as he sat beside Jericho.

"Seriously, you okay?"

Chris flicked his eyes up at the brunette. //It was nothing. I need to just erase it from my mind.// "Who's the blond elite wearing the long ear rings?" //The hell?! Why am I asking that?!//

Lance paused his pasted smile midway as he mulled over the question before letting it continue. "Oh you mean Michaels?"

"Michaels?"

"Yeah Shawn Michaels." He chuckled lightly, "Don't you know who that is?"

Chris shrugged with little effort, "Not really. I've heard some vague stuff surrounding that name, but you know how I am with hear-say."

"So how did you know he was an elite?"

His fingers stopped moving for a split second, continuing with untying his boots once his mind processed a response. "Just a guess. He was walking past here and he just had that elite thing about him you know."

The blond's smile thinned into a grin, "Oh _ho ho ho_."

Chris looked up curiously at him, "What's with that response? Christmas isn't until one month."

"You like him don't you?"

"What?!" Realizing the suspicion his outburst was gathering, Chris toned his voice down to a sharp – but low – hiss, "He's a man T! Plus he's way out of my league, and I don't even know him!"He turned his now blushing face to his boots, "And besides isn't he old? No way in hell T."

"Listen man, you can't be so narrow minded. Gender really is defined by where the reproductive glands are anyways. His just happens to be outside." Chris responded by rolling his eyes, "And plus, I'm sure you don't know any of the girls you..." He paused, "Oh yeah, I forgot. You're still _green_ in that area." He stifled his oncoming laughter when a sharp glare from Chris silenced it. "Seriously Chris. Age is just a number, love grows in time, you have the drive to make it to his league, and like I said gender don't matter."

//How did this dolt end up as my best friend?// "Putting your insanity aside, who is he anyways?"

"He used to work here as part of WCW, but he moved to the other side shortly after. Now I hear he's sort of a scout for WWF." Lance scowled. "He came around here not too long ago and started sniffing the air if you know what I mean. A lot of guys went to the other side because of him." Lance chuckled darkly as his voice dipped in warm venom, "He's one of the top guys over there, so of course people of interest would turn coat. Traitors the whole lot of 'em."

It was no secret to the locker room, and especially to Chris, that Lance had a problem with disloyalty. Once you signed on the dotted line you made the equivalent of a blood oath. And you don't break a blood oath. That was Storm's philosophy in life, and Jericho respected that. However, even a blind man could see that WCW was on its' last leg, so it made perfect sense for a lot of guys to up and run before the ship sank. Lance was perfectly content to go down with the ship because he may as well have built the damn thing. The fact that his best friend was an unmovable rock was the reason Chris decided to stay on despite knowing his career was going nowhere in the WCW. Being hated wasn't something Jericho was fond of – and being labeled a mere traitor by a man he trusted with his life was something Chris would never want.

//Some things don't change.// The thought brought a small smile to Chris' face as he took off both boots. "Well, whatever." He took up the clothes that sat beside him. "I'm going to take a quick shower and get a move on to the hotel." He turned to his friend, "I suggest you get ready or I might leave you again."

Lance smirked, "You're not even the one driving."

Chris shrugged as he stood, "Yeah but I own the room key." He walked towards the shower area – ignoring his friend as he stuck out his tongue in a childish retaliation.

//To hell with letting you get the last word.// Lance grinned as his voice went high pitched, "_Oh_ _Chrissy!_ I'm _so_ sorry I can't join you, but -" A bar of soap shot into his face cutting his sentence. He laughed heartily as he watched Chris scramble to the shower in embarrassment.

Once again Chris Jericho was in the hotel room, and of course Lance was nowhere in sight. //Why did we bother getting a double room when I'm the only one in it ninety five percent of the time?// He groaned as he dropped his heavy bag onto the floor. It was a mystery to him really why his bag was always heavy. It had less stuff in it than Lance's and yet it weighed close to two tons – figuratively. He left the door unlocked because experience had taught him that Lance would most likely waltz into the room at some ungodly time of the morning with the scent of liquor streaming from his body and probably strapped to some girl he had picked up. Defeated by his own thoughts, Chris opted to just hop into bed. It took him a few minutes to wriggle himself into a comfortable position that found him curled on his left side facing the wall. Eventually that got uncomfortable and so he sprawled across the bed with his arms spread over the horizontally across the top of the bed, and his stomach planted on the mattress. His arms and hands soon arched under the large pillow bringing its' softness closer to the right side of his face. He turned his head to face the door.

The instant his body relaxed, his brain seized the calm moment bombarding him with flash mental images of the man he had just seen. //Shawn Michaels huh.// Truthfully, Jericho never knew the man – aside from hearsay. He had heard about some elite who had been around since the stone age, and had recently brought a young Hunter Helmsley under his wing. Hunter was the same age as Lance at the tim - twenty six and not even treading on heavyweight - and he was just a fan of the show to boot, yet apparently he had something 'special' and so only a mere two years into his career in the WCW, he was whisked off to the upper class sections of the opposing company – as a hard working pupil of course. Most of the guys – Lance included – had felt a sense of hate stemming from envy when it came to Hunter. Some guys just flat out hated him because in truth Hunter carried himself as though he was better than guys his age. They labeled him a traitor and a sell out for up and leaving WCW to join with the rival company. Rumors started to spread about it having been the legendary Ric Flair who took him in, but that was due to another rumor that Flair fed on the blood of innocent wrestlers looking for a way to make their mark in the industry. However, after learning that Ric never really took on students because of his famed massive ego, and after what Lance confirmed, the initial rumor died. However the latter vampire-who-fed-on-virgins-of-the-company rumor did not. Now clear minded Jericho put the pieces together. The only other elite who could stand Hunter's existence would most likely be Shawn Michaels. The guy's ego had an ego from what he heard. But Chris was never one for hear-say. The Shawn Michaels he saw today was not the ego maniac who'd crush someone like paper only to throw them away once they got useless kind of man he had heard about. The Shawn Michaels he had seen was bathed in a sort of rich, yet gentle aura. And it was drawing Chris in like a fish to bait.

//Get a grip Chris.// He frowned heavily at the door. //He's out of your league. And he's a man for crying out loud!// He sighed heavily. //And besides, I'm sure he has women flocking him and even has a girlfriend so forget it. And you're working at opposing companies.// His face buried itself into the white fluffiness of the large pillow below. //A guy like him would never consider being with a guy. Period.// His thoughts hurt, and he silently cursed himself for this onslaught of negativity that he was never one to be known for. It made him a little sick inside. //Whatever. I just need to think about other things. I didn't come here to up and leave, I came to make a mark.// He drew in the scent of the pillow. It stunk of cleaning agents. //And to do that I need to keep thinking positive and good things will happen.// After silently counting a few sheep, Chris was finally able to close his eyes as he drifted off to sleep.

Dawn was approaching, but the sun was nowhere in sight. The room door flew open and like clockwork Lance walked in. His large sunken eyes were glazed over by the alcohol that now coursed heavily through his veins. His breathing was heavy, raspy and each breath stunk. He blinked slowly to try and comprehend exactly where he had ended up. //Weird's...tisizat..?// Even his thoughts were swimming in Jack Daniels. He wobbled over to the bed at the far end of the room, stopping once he found it occupied. His vision was heavily blurred but he could make out a white T-shirt that had rolled up a bit at the back, and a mass of long blond hair. A shrewd smile crossed Lance's face as he stared at the body lying on the bed. //Loos like his.// He chuckled lowly to no one except the voices in his head and hopped on top of the sleeping occupant.

Chris instantly woke up to the sudden weight that drove the breath out of him. Using agile reflexes, he managed to push the invader off his back, sit up and glare at him teeth bared and fists clenched.

"What the hell are you doing you fuck -!" All desire to fight fled once he caught a look at the all-too-familiar face, "T?! What the hell man?!"

Lance stirred about as he looked up at Chris – his sly grin still present. "It's you. _Chrissy_."

//Drunken bastard!// Chris sighed heavily as he grabbed his friend's arm – egging him to get off his bed. "T, you gotta get up. You're on my bed."

Lance moved in the motion that Chris was directing him, but stopped once he sat up. "Hey Chrissy, how it feels to be thirty virgin?"

//What is he talking about?// Chris released the man's arm and slowly shook his head. "All right. I'll sleep in your bed. At least you haven't brought any chicks over lately so it's clean." He sighed heavily, and smiled, "You need to stop drinking T. Good night."

Chris turned to leave, but in the blink of an eye Lance had lounged forward, grabbed Chris' hand and pulled him back on the bed. Jericho wasn't given the time to assess the situation as Lance moved with lightning speed. By the time Chris had finally comprehended what was happening, Lance single-handedly pinned both of Jericho's hands above his head and was sitting on top of him.

His voice was racked with nerves, "Hey, T, what are you doing man?" Chris shifted stiffly and sharply only to find that his friend weighed a ton. "Dude you're drunk alright. Let me go and just go to sleep."

Lance's sly smile was still there. A flash of something unknown crossed over his glazed eyes as he stared down at Chris. "You knows...I _really_ like you Chrissy." He paused to collect his thoughts that slurred around in his head, "I mean I really, really like you. Have for a long, long time."

//Okay then. He's totally hammered!// Chris smiled nervously, "Okay. I like you too man, but now is not the time to talk about it. How about we talk about it in the morning?" He wriggled again but the effort turned up futile. "Seriously dude let me go. You're freaking me out."

"You know," Lance's voice was low and covered in gravel. He traced the outline of Chris' jaw with his free fingers. Chris flicked his head away. "I'm not the only guy who looks at you. I'm not the only one who..." He paused again as he rubbed his index finger over Chris' lip -The younger blond shifting his head in every direction to counter. "...wants to kiss you."

Instantly Lance dropped his face down to Chris and trapped the younger man's lips in a violent kiss. Chris frowned heavily and moved with more strength to break away, but Lance simply tightened his grip, forcibly steadied Chris' head by clamping his large fingers down on the blond's jaw, and intensified the kiss. When he broke away he found a very angry Chris Jericho scowling at him.

"You fucking idiot! What the hell do you think you're -"

"Don't you get it Chris?!" Lance's sudden moment of clarity shocked both himself and the blond he was sitting on. "You're twenty nine and never been touched! Never been kissed! Never had sex! You're that forbidden fruit that everybody wants!"

//What is he talking about!?// "Open your eyes damn it! I'm a_ man_ Lance! Not a girl!"

The glaze in his eyes slowly dissipated revealing the utter sadness in his darkened orbs. "I know that, but I told you it doesn't matter. Gender, age, race, class... those things don't fucking matter Chris!" He trailed his finger down the fabric-shielded chest of Chris Jericho. His voice now downed to a soft whisper, "I just want you so bad. So bad it hurts!"

Chris' mind went blank. He was utterly speechless. Here was a man he trusted with his life, loved like a brother, respected like a mentor, and had as a best friend. This same man had kissed him and was now touching him – and he couldn't move. //Why?// He stared at Lance's pained expression with widened shaky blues. //Why didn't I see this?// The heat from Lance's trailing finger almost burned Chris' flesh from its intensity. //We're best friends. Closer than brothers. So why didn't I know?// Lance rolled up Chris' shirt and rested the side of his face down on Jericho's exposed chest. It had not even registered in Chris' mind that Lance was hugging him with both hands – meaning that his hands were now free. Lance moved his lips across Jericho's chest before landing his right cheek back down and staring at the door as he held the man closer. He cracked a small smile as he listened intently to the soothing rhythm of Jericho's heart. He drew in a deep silent breath, registering each scent that trailed in from the blond's skin. He looked up at Chris with a soft gaze. Chris' eyes had returned to normal but his face looked parched of expression. Lance resumed lying on the younger man's chest.

"I love you Chris."

***-*-***


	17. Chapter 17

**Gentle readers, I am sorry for this late update. School is threatening to be my grave by currently trying to bury me alive with work and exams. I have what to write. I want to write. But time is no friend of mine, so I apologize for my slow updates. **

**Also, be prepared for a roller coaster ride the next couple of chapters. I mean months will fly by even years! Lol. I want to cover everything in Jericho's past, but do so quickly you know. Lol **

**Okay.... back to the story**

_***_

_The sun rays streamed into the room through the semi parted curtains that draped over the glass windows. The moment the sun light reached the bed nearest to the window, his sky blues shot open. Lance was still lying on top of him – fast asleep – and hugging him with little to no force behind it. _

_//I don't believe this!// Chris' face paled in shock as he looked down at Lance's mass of brown hair that was rubbing gently over his exposed chest. //I actually fell asleep in this situation?!// The young blond tried to nudge his friend off his chest, but Lance responded by tightening his vice drawing Chris closer to him. Lance shifted his head a bit and his mass of brunette strands swept lightly over Jericho's nipples. They hardened on contact much to the shock of Chris. _

_Finally unable to simply go along with the motions, Chris gave Lance a sharp knock to the head. The older man groggily stirred before fully waking up. _

"_All right fun's over T. You have to get up now."_

_Lance lifted his head but kept his arms wrapped around Jericho's sides. "Is that anyway to wake up the man who's madly in love with you, Chrissy?"_

_Jericho pushed Lance's body off with ease – contrary to his failure to do so last night – and got off the bed. He fixed his T-Shirt and headed to the bathroom. Lance propped one elbow up and held the side of his face in the open palm. His dark orbs raking over Jericho's body as he moseyed over to the bathroom._

"_I haven't heard an answer Chris."_

_Chris stopped at the open bathroom door. His back still turned to Lance. "I didn't get a question."_

_Lance scoffed lightly, "What are you going to do now?" _

_Jericho paused allowing the silence to rein in a response. "I'm going to take a shower."_

_Not wanting to hear whatever it was that Lance was going to say, Chris quickly locked the bathroom door. He sat on the edge of the ceramic tub and stared at the door in solemn silence. When his baby blues trailed down to his feet, they stopped once they locked on to his still hardened nipples. The sight made him blush with embarrassment as he sighed in defeat and hung his head. //Something's definitely wrong with me.// The realization that he did not bring anything pertaining to a shower and the clothes to change into afterwords hit Chris Jericho last. //What the hell am I gonna do?//_

_***_

The weeks flowed by smoothly, and before anyone knew it, WCW was suddenly smack dab in the middle of December. Four weeks ago, Lance Storm had confessed his love to his best friend – Chris Jericho. Knowing his friend's instability when it came to relationships – let alone same sex relationships – Lance had opted to give Jericho time to think about what it was he wanted to do. However, Lance Storm was not known for patience. In fact, he was known for the opposite. And the fact that a certain show stopper was ogling an oblivious Chris Jericho did not help matters any. For four weeks, Lance had decided to give Jericho the space he knew the young man would need in order to think things through and yet the moment he left Jericho's side, Michaels sauntered along in an attempt to fill the void.

//Son of a bitch is at it again.// The brunette sped up his usual lazy gait as he all but gunned to the locker room where Michaels stood peering in from the shadows of the door. He stopped a few steps ahead of Shawn – close enough to be heard, yet far enough to be out of looking range from the wrestlers inside the room.

"Stalking is illegal you know."

"Really now?" The older blond slid his eyes to Lance from beneath the brim of his cap. His tone heavily condescending "But I'm not stalking anyone. I'm observing."

Lance gritted his teeth once he found the man's calm tea greens sliding towards Jericho – who was sitting on the bench and talking to random people. "He's not interested."

"In?" Shawn's eyes had not left Jericho.

"In WWF." A smirk rested on the brunette's face, "And you."

"Hmm." The lid of his cap hid well the twitch of his right eye as Lance's words sunk in. His voice dipped into liquid distaste, "I see."

He turned and flashed the brunette a playful smile as his eyes lit up with childish innocence – contrary to the darkened shadow that was previously hovering over them. The suddenness of Shawn's action caused goose bumps to rapidly spread across the tanned flesh of Lance's exposed back. Once Shawn let slip a low chuckle, Lance regained his thoughts and razed all evidence of uneasiness that sprouted around him. Shawn slightly tilted his head down letting his eyes shoot up completely to intensify the flash of something ominous that slid across his sclerae as he locked gazes with Lance. A wad of air clambered loudly down the younger brunette's throat as his darkened auburns widened slightly to the sinister intensity behind Shawn's outwardly calm tea greens. The silence that swung playfully between both men made the situation tenser by the second.

Moments later, Shawn blinked slower than necessary and scoffed loudly beneath a heated breath. Lance – slightly relieved that Shawn's eyes were now focusing on the floor, but angry at himself for feeling that way – crossed his muscular arms across his chest and gave Shawn a look of sheer cocky triumph.

"Now I think you should just go back to your master and have him pet you for trying." He smirked, but his deathly dry tone betrayed the seemingly friendly look, "Chrissy's not interested in you or your slave-job offer."

"_Chrissy_?" Shawn slowly shook his head – the act causing his long ear rings to make subtle clinking sounds – and looked up at Lance with his chin tilted upwards, "So that's what it is huh. But it looks to me like he's not feeling the same way."

Lance bit back the frown that threatened to show, instead replacing it by dropping his smile. "Chris would never jump ship. He's not like that dog-ass-licking Hunter."

"You're very certain of your friend aren't you? But I can see what you've probably chosen not to." He glanced back at Chris – now standing in a group of other men and laughing heartily about something – dragging his narrowed tea greens back to Lance's face. A grin accompanied him seconds later, "WCW is finished. And anyone who chooses to stay with this broken pile of junk will be left for dead with it. Chris knows there's better out there. You know there's better out there. However, what's getting in the way is simply your pathetic ego. You know Chris is better than you. He's a top star here – for what that's worth – but you, who've been here since the dinosaur ages, are not." Shawn paused, his grin growing the more Lance's face twisted with silent rage, "You know left alone he'd move to the greener pastures in a heartbeat. He'd leave WCW for WWF. He'd leave you for me. But the friendship bond you two share is strong, and from what I've heard Chris isn't an advocate of disloyalty. And so you're just exploiting his weakness to get him to stay here. I bet you've already decided to make him yours. But even with all that friendship and trust, to Chris a man of my caliber outshines you," His voice hit gravel. His grin curled at the ends ", in every way."

Lance lounged forward first. He got a punch in, but the majority of the force had hit the concrete wall instead of the fleshy target. Utilizing his famous lithe movements that struck faster than lightning, Shawn was able to move out of the way before Lance's knuckle-baring fist did real damage. The larger brunette turned around and struck out at Shawn once again. Known for speed, Shawn could have easily dodged the slow moving punch, but once his tea greens nestled on what it was he wanted, he stayed put and waited for the row of tanned knuckles to hit his face. In an instant he was sent flying to the row of lockers in the locker room.

At the sudden entrance of Michaels, all the wrestlers paused their lives and stared in shock at the blond lying on the floor with blood draining from the side of his mouth. Soon all eyes shot towards a heavy breathing Lance Storm. His face held enough anger to supply all the men in the room, and his normally happy brown eyes were colored charcoal with the heat of boiling fury. The sight caused the wrestlers to exit the room in relative silence, leaving the attacked blond, Lance, and a stunned-into-numbness Chris Jericho in the room.

//What the hell is this?!// Chris stared at Shawn and then at Lance. The brunette charged blindly into the room – attack mode and murderous intent blaring from every pore in his being. Jericho snapped to and immediately jumped in front of his friend, holding him back from further assaulting Shawn. Despite being encased in anger, Lance was able to label the sudden blockade as Chris, only to find himself getting even angrier at the revelation.

"What the hell Chris?!" The veins in his neck ate at the skin, "Get out of my way!"

"No T!" Chris' sky blues frantically searched Lance's expression for a hint of control only to come up short, "Calm down for a second! You just punched Shawn Michaels, T!"

Lance glared down at his friend. His smoldering eyes raging full speed ahead, "So you're defending him now huh?!I leave you alone for four weeks and you've already become best buds with the fucking enemy!" His frowned etched deeper into his forehead, "You won't give me the time of day but you're okay with talking to Michaels anytime!"

//What is he talking about?!// Chris' voice rose in volume, "What the hell are you going on about Lance?!"

At the sound of his name rolling bitterly off Jericho's tongue Lance stopped fighting and instead plopped down onto the bench beside him. All his energy drained from him, so much that he couldn't even continue to frown. Taking the crumpled sight of his friend to mean that the brunette had finally calmed down, Chris checked on Shawn.

"Hey are you okay?"

Shawn stirred a bit, a soft groan escaping his lips as Chris gingerly helped him up. Shawn rested his hand gently on Chris' wrist stopping the man. He smiled sweetly at him. Chis blushed hard.

"I think you ought to check on your friend." His voice was low, "I'm fine."

Chris gave a quick nod beneath the look of uncertainty, and cautiously walked over to Lance sitting beside the man and resting a comforting hand on his shoulder. He looked down worryingly at Shawn who was now seated on the floor with his back to the wall. The older blond planted his cap back on his head and looked up at the two younger men on the bench.

"It looks like I've stirred up some trouble." A playful smile splashed across Michaels face, "Sorry about that."

A slight tinge of red settled on Chris' face as he smiled a bit at Michaels' easy-going response. "Ah, don't worry about it." His face caved in to worry, "More importantly are you sure you're okay?"

"I've had worse."

Shawn glanced over at Lance finding the brunette's head hung low with his shoulders slumping forward. A sly grin graced his lips. Chris returned his attention to his broken down friend who had not said a word since sitting down. Michaels stood to his feet and opted to leave the situation instead of possibly adding any more fuel to the fire. Jericho's eyes followed Shawn's physique as he strolled out of the room with that hypnotic swagger in his step. The younger blond blushed heavily when Michaels half-turned, smiled and tipped his hat at him before locking the door behind him.

"He knows about us Chris."

At the sound of his friend's dry tone Chris snapped out of his day dream gaze and gave his friend a pseudo-stern look, "Us? What are talking about Lance? And who knows?"

Lance's brown eyes sat on the floor with a glazed wall shimmering over them. It signaled that his mind was miles away, "I haven't gotten an answer Chris. Out of respect I left you be for four weeks. I changed hotel rooms. I tried to keep our conversations purely friendly. I stayed out of your hair." He scoffed, "But you haven't given it any thought have you?"

Chris mulled it over before speaking, "I have given it thought Lance, but I just can't okay."

"Can't what?" Lance's voice downed lower, "Can't return my feelings? Can't stay with this company? Can't give up on Michaels?" He clenched his teeth, "What can't you do Chris?"

Chris remained silent. Granted he had never really wanted to leave WCW, it wasn't as if the idea of doing so hadn't been on his mind. In truth, Chris wanted to further his career, and if leaving the company made that happen, then he would. However, on the personal side, Lance was right.

"Listen, T, I'm really...um...thankful that you think of me that way, but I really can't love you like that." He sighed, "And about Michaels, dude I've never put the guy before you or thought of him that way."

"Yes you have Chris. It's written all over your face." He scoffed softly, "Thanks for giving me your honest answer."

//Huh? What's with this sarcasm?// Chris' hand was returned to him, as Lance stood up and turned to walk away.

"Hey wait, is that it?!"

Lance waited – much to his surprise, "Yeah."

Chris stared wide-eyed at the older man's back, "We're still best friends right? After the show, I can still hang out with you right?"

A loud heavy sigh escaped Lance's lips. He continued to look at the door. "I don't think we can Chris. I want to, but I don't think we can."

A frown carved into Chris' face, "Huh?! Why the hell not?! Listen I'm sorry I can't be in love with you, but I just can't, and you can't hold that against me! It's unfair!"

"Unfair?!" Lance's voice roared through the room, silencing the younger blond. "What's unfair is that I love you and I'm never getting anything in return!" Lance forced his voice into venom, "When you get your heart broken, come back to me about unfair."

Lance exited the room, the door slamming loudly as it shut behind him. Chris quickly followed behind, but hadn't even gotten two good steps down the hallway before the sound of the stage guy shouting his name stopped him dead in his tracks. He glanced angrily at the short man, before looking back pitifully at his retreating friend. He heaved a sigh and half turned to walk to the stage. //He'll be better tomorrow after he cools off.// His trailing blue eyes caught a glimpse of the empty hallway behind him, the sight causing a heavy weight in his chest. He shook himself into stage mode and entered the ring, allowing the deafening screams of the crowd to work their mind-clearing magic on him.

*-*-*

The following week , the show aired and once again closed. Jericho sat down in the locker room. Random people called to him, and he waved them goodbye as they left the arena. Beneath his large smile and happy expression, Chris' insides were going through every natural disaster known to man as one thought constantly ran through his mind.

"_He knows about us Chris." _

//Who knows about us? What us?!// He glared angrily ahead, //You don't show up for a full week, no one knows where the fuck you are, and you expect me to believe you wanted us to be together this whole time?! The hell Lance?! // He slowly dropped his glare to give way to a more saddened look in his eyes, // You knew I wasn't going to be with you. You even knew I was a little attracted to Michaels. So if you knew all that why didn't you just give up, and why are you mad at me?!// Chris sighed. With a quick shake of his head to rid his mind of all those thoughts he silently deemed unnecessary, Chris focused on getting out of his wrestling gear and into the shower to take a long bath before heading back.

As Chris undid his boot laces he stopped once his blue eyes stared at the floor. It had shoe prints and dirt grit all over it. He lifted his head to look around the emptying locker room. In a technical term, the locker room looked run down. The paint on the walls was peeling a bit, and a few lockers were rusted at the hinges. Everything looked to be on its' final lap. Just like the company. Jericho sighed to himself. //Maybe I should turn coat too. I'm not getting anywhere while I'm here. And it's not like I have any real reason to stay right?// The thought evaporated once he recalled what he would stand to gain from doing something like that. And that was Lance's hatred.

"Hey Chris. What's up?"

Jericho almost flew off the bench at the sudden voice that slid into his ears. He looked up and almost sighed in relief. "H-Hey Shawn. Uh, nothing."

//What is Michaels doing here?!// His face unintentionally sold his bewilderment beautifully. Upon seeing the sight, Shawn chuckled a bit as he pushed himself off the door frame. His blond locks were braided with a trio of shiny beads at each end. His trademark long earrings had been replaced by a triplet set of small, thick, gold hoops that sat on the lobes of both ears. The older blond was clad in nothing more than a pair of rugged jeans that acted as a second skin, a V-neck loose shirt that rolled up at the elbows, and an open leather vest that was studded with diamonds at the edges covering the shirt to finalize the outfit. Even though it was December they were in Orlando after all, so there was no need for heavy winter clothes. His cowboy boots hit the floor loudly as they clomped forward, stopping halfway.

His lips thinned out to a smile, "Can I come in?"

Jericho looked up at Shawn and fumbled a smile to counter his now redden face, "Sure."

Shawn sat beside him and looked at him with calm tea greens. Jericho blushed heavily and turned his eyes to look at the floor. The reaction brought a smile to Shawn's face. The older man scanned the empty locker room with nonchalance written all over his face. He landed his tea greens back on Jericho, but the man was still staring at the floor with a face dyed in bright red. It brought an amused look to Shawn's face.

Chris' heart was beating a mile a minute. //Hold on! Hold on! What the hell's wrong with me?!// He tried to mentally slow down his rapid heart rate only to get hit with the impossibility of it all. //It's just a guy talking to me. It's like Lance talking to me, or Jesse, or anyone else. He's just talking to me.// Despite knowing that fact, his face still held that deep blush and his heart was speeding up instead of doing the preferred opposite.

"Where's your friend?"

Chris' breath hitched before he gave in to his inner need to slump, "I don't know."

"What happened? He was kind of hostile the first time I talked to him."

"Well, sorry." He glanced back at Shawn, "He's not always like that. He just has a few personal issues. That all."

Shawn smiled playfully, "Care to tell me about it?" Uncertainty hit Chris' face. Shawn countered by resting a gentle hand on Jericho's shoulder, his face deadpan with a serious tone, "It doesn't leave this room. You have my word."

//The hell? Why do I feel like it's no longer a choice? It's more like I should tell him.// He sighed heavily returning his eyes to the tiles below, "Lance recently confessed to a girl. But she's pretty sure she doesn't like him past the friendship point you know."

"Go on."

Another heavy sigh. "He confessed, but she decided to treat it like it never happened. Lance went along with the idea but he was only doing it to give the girl time to consider his confession. The girl didn't know and thought maybe the incident was a spur of the moment thing, you know."

"So does this girl like someone else or something?"

"Y-Yeah. Well," Chris clenched his jaw, "not entirely. I mean she's not sure."

"I see." Shawn looked ahead in thought before sliding his heavy lidded eyes to Chris, "Your friend should just forget about her."

Chris shot up and gave Shawn a look of panic, "He has! But..." He skated his eyes back to the ground, "But, it's like he's chosen to forget her _completely_! The girl told him her answer, but just because it wasn't what he wanted to hear, he decided to cut her off completely – feelings and friendship." He mumbled softly, "And that's unfair."

Shawn's voice ate gravel, "So that's what it is huh."

Shawn leaned back letting his back hit the lockers behind, and stared ahead at the wall in front. He occasionally dropped his eyes to Chris and opted to remain silent for the time being. Chris twiddled his thumbs in thought. //Maybe if I try talking to him again he'll listen this time and we could just go back to being friends again.//

As if holding a telepathic link with Chris, Shawn responded to his unasked question, "Don't bother. He probably wishes he could go back to the way things were, but he's heartbroken, and is still very much in love," He smiled playfully, "with you."

//He knew?! How?!// The shock overcame Chris' expression as he stared at Shawn for answers. //Well he's not dumb, so of course he'd figure it out. What would Lance's problems with a girl have to do with our friendship right?// He gave the older man a shaky smile.

"So I should give him time huh?"

"No. You should just leave him be altogether." Chris frowned. Shawn shrugged, "It's the truth. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. If he's avoiding you altogether it must mean he's still sulking and your innocent hand of friendship might just make him more resentful towards you."

Chris paused in thought. "So you're saying I should just wait until he comes around and asks me to be friends again?"

"No." Shawn smirked, "I'm saying you shouldn't be waiting at all Chris."

"Huh?" He scoffed a bit, "I'm sorry but that defeats the purpose her-"

"Your career." Shawn quickly cut in, "It's going nowhere. You can feel it. You know if you stay here this company will sink you."

He swallowed loudly. The room felt smaller all of a sudden. "I-I know that, but I'm okay with it. I mean I've spent ten years here, so it's no surprise really that it comes time to retire."

"You're okay with it?" Shawn chuckled darkly as he moved closer to Chris causing the younger man to shift nervously away. "Isn't that just Lance talking?"

Despite his heart rate doubling in speed, and his breathing becoming more unsteady and louder, Chris mustered up a slight frown, "What does Lance have to do with any of this?"

"He has everything to do with this." Shawn's smirk matured into a grin, "You don't want him hating you and calling you a traitor so you're willing to keep your ambitious side dormant and stick with a sinking ship." Chris' back sat on the wall behind him. Shawn continued to move in closer until his face was a mere inches from the younger blond's. "However," His tone iced over, "The problem with keeping a dominant side of yourself dormant is that eventually it wants to regain control. And it will do _anything_ to do just that."

Having Shawn so close with nowhere to run, Chris felt as though someone had doused him in gasoline and lit him a fire. He tried to look everywhere else, but Shawn's calm, cool tea greens held his baby blues in their gaze. He tried to slow his heart rate, but it simply sped up. He tried to quiet down his breathing, but hit the wall of impossibility upon attempting to do so. All of his efforts funneled into futility as he tried to convince himself otherwise to the obvious truth. Shawn was right.

At the start of his career, Chris Jericho had used his ambitious side to propel him forward by excelling and exceeding at every turn. It had taken him about seven years to finally make it to the big leagues, but his drive ran out when he met Lance. The man was so easy going it made a snail's pace seem comparable to the speed of sound. That attitude, combined with Jericho's tender nature, outshone his need to succeed in just a few months, and soon he started slacking off. However, facing Shawn Michaels with no Lance around for miles, Chris found himself thinking otherwise. At the time he knew WCW wasn't going to see the year 2000. Although having no proof for that back then, Chris just knew it. Three years later and he was right. Employees left every second. The show had its ratings but once some of the board members jumped ship, WCW was now nothing more than a small headless lizard going up against a fully-grown Tyrannosaurs Rex.

For years he had convinced himself that not wanting Lance to hate him was the reason to stay, but now Lance did hate him for other reasons, and so in truth he had no reason to stay at all. //But where am I supposed to go if I leave? What the hell am I supposed to do?// The feel of something soft running down the length of his left cheek brought him back to reality almost instantly. Chris blinked rapidly to comprehend and followed the hand back to its owner. His eyes beheld a charming smile toppled with an almost sympathetic expression sitting on a tanned face. As if a light bulb went off above his head, Chris Jericho instantly found the answers to his questions. The hand slowly withdrew from Chris' cheek.

"You know," A husky voice hit Chris' ear from close range. "I never once asked anyone to come with me. They all came to me offering to leave WCW, and I accepted." His eyes narrowed slightly at Chris' drunken expression – curtained glazed blue eyes, and a reddened face. "But I like you Chris. I like you a lot, and I can give you what it is you want. Just come with me, give me a few years, and I'll make you more successful than you could ever imagine. It's a promise."

Not trusting his tongue and truthfully having forgotten he even had one, Chris nodded slowly in response. Michaels grinned, stood up and left the room – hesitating once he reached the door.

"Oh by the way, this is my last night at the hotel. I've left the room number beside you. Just come up after you're ready, and I'll take you with me." His playful smile was slightly visible to Chris as his back was what was facing the younger blond, "Don't keep me waiting."

With that, Shawn left in relative silence. As if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, Chris snapped to and shockingly found himself in the corner on the bench with his limbs limp, and with a feeling of weariness over him. His heavy blush didn't register until he crossed paths with a mirror. He stood eyeing himself for a few seconds. //I should leave. There's no shame in trying to get ahead in this profession. I knew that when I started and I know that now.// He nodded to no one in particular, gave a quick look at the locker room before landing his eyes on the piece of paper in his hands. He smiled triumphantly at the number scribbled down. //This is for the best.//

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	18. Chapter 18

**GOOD GRIEF!!!! It took me FOREVER to write this damn chapter!!!! ARGH!!! And you know why I'm so mad??? Well it's because I've had this S.O.B. on my computer in a folder I COULDN'T FIND!!!!! Then I FINALLY found it, only to see that half the flipping story was missing!!!! So I had to write the chapter basically from scratch. And now I did! At last!**

**LOL**

**Okay.... back to the story :D**

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Ten months had flown by with a speed faster than light itself and left trails of fire in the dust. It had been ten months since Chris Jericho became an official part of the WWF. The first few months were tedious to say the least. No one took much time to deal with the rookies that came in from WCW. It was almost as if they were categorized into a whole different class that sat below everyone with years of experience in the WWF company. That included even the janitors. As expected, WCW tanked. However, what came as a surprise to many former employees was the fact that WWF was the one that bought the broken company as a way to keep some of the major stars who had fan base, but held a greater pride to the company than even Lance did. When it came to crunch time, many of the wrestlers that had poured their heart into WCW – and even wrestling as a whole – were handed a final check and a cold pat on the back as they were unceremoniously shoved out the door. Lance Storm was one of those men.

It had been ten months to date that Chris had spoken, or even seen, Lance Storm. The man he once trusted with his life was now so far away that even Jericho's mind had trouble recalling what the man even looked like. For such a loss over trivialities many would have sought out their friend even at the cost of their careers, because friendship is better than gold. That philosophy did not apply to Chris Jericho. Being taken under the wing of one of the best in the business had its advantages. Granted the only sore thumb for Jericho was that he had to train with Hunter. In truth, Chris held no hatred towards the man. He simply did what he had to in order to get ahead. To Chris, that was exactly what he would have done. And he had. However, something about Hunter threw Chris off balance and being in close quarters with the man just sickened the younger blond.

Another show passed on as the wrestlers' congregated in the locker room. Shawn headed off to talk with Vince, and Hunter trailed behind him. Chris was already in the boss' office by the time both men got to the room. Being a fast learner by nature, Jericho soon discovered that it was better to speak business after the show was over and an 'elite' was present. Hence Shawn Michaels. And on the side it was also best to adhere to the old saying 'speak when spoken to', but it was wise to add a little more to the proverb. When in the presence of Vince McMahon, Jericho concluded that he should always have a deep, well-thought answer ready for every question, suggestion or general conversational input that was guaranteed to be randomly thrown at him. Unlike Chris, however, Hunter opted to stay silent, chomp on his gum, and run his bored eyes over Shawn and the boss as they spoke amongst themselves. Occasionally the older man's hazels would skirt to Chris once the younger blond started to speak. Nowadays, more often than not, Hunter found himself staring for lengthy times at the younger man even when he was simply enjoying the comforts of silence instead of engaging in conversation.

Vince stared at Chris and then flicked his eyes to the door as it opened. Shawn – trailed once again by Hunter – sauntered in with a giddy smile on his face. He did a poor impression of Ric Flair's classic dance as he walked over to the chair ahead of Vince's desk. Unless you were at the top in the company, you were not allowed to sit in the chair ahead of Vince's desk unless he asked you to sit. However even then it was necessary to question his offer, give him a moment to re-think, and if his answer remained the same then – and only then – were you allowed to sit down. For that reason both Hunter and Chris – bottom feeders in truth with the latter man being more so than the initial – stood at opposite sides behind a seated Michaels.

The oldest blond sat down comfortably in the large chair, his playful smile still plastered on his face. Unlike the two men behind him, Shawn was still clad in his ring attire. He had made the effort to put his long earrings back on, however he was shirtless, sweaty with strands of his hair sticking to his exposed shoulders and back curling slightly at the ends. The sight threw Chris' senses into a frenzy causing the man to claw desperately at even a whiff of collective calmness so as to regain his sense of control. Vince locked his fingers together and placed his hands stiffly on the table ahead. He leaned closer to Shawn.

"I don't like it Michaels."

Shawn scoffed slightly, his expression still showcasing a feeling of too much joy. "You don't like a lot of things these days Vince. Linda finally left?"

Vince chuckled, "She's not going anywhere." He grinned deviously, "Least of all with you." He sighed heavily before finally leaning back into the plush embrace of the leather chair. "Something's got to change. What do you think Jericho?"

All eyes – except Vince's – sat on Chris' as the younger man looked on with a cold, unflinching expression scarring his face. In truth Jericho was happy to be acknowledged in these meetings, but it was highly unprofessional if he wore his emotions on his face. The act would make him instantly predictable. And that was something no up-comer wanted to be.

"The idea of this feud is perfectly okay as it is." He glanced at Shawn who gave him a quick nod in reply. His baby blues sat kindly on the man who was still not looking – Vince. "An emotional feud like this one is exactly what fans crave for. Their favorite group, the group that rebelled against tyrants, good guys, bosses, and employees alike – the bad boys would be the fitting term here – going against each other with murderous intent." He glanced at a very bored looking Hunter, "One guy is obsessed with fame, power and glory. He'll mow anyone down to get it. And that includes Shawn." He sat his eyes on Shawn, "On the other hand the latter man is conflicted. After all he's going up against the man he loved more than a brother, respected like a mentor, and would do anything for. It would be an insult to their long tedious friendship if they didn't rip each other apart week after week. " He rose his eyebrows slightly for emphasis, "So I say let's give this feud the green light. It's in the embryonic stage right now, and yes there are going to be fans who will want you to drop it, but don't." He slid a small smile on his face, "And besides, the profits outweigh all negative aspects. Isn't that the most important thing?"

Silence befell the room for a short while before a series of slow claps emitted from Michaels filled the room. He smiled proudly at Chris looking away after a few seconds, and in turn missing the slight red blush that sat across Jericho's face. Shawn let out a loud raspy laugh that went on for less than a minute before he stopped.

"Didn't I tell you?" His playful smile sitting on his face, "This guy's great!"

Vince chuckled slightly, but dropped the happy act once his cold eyes met Chris' face. "Don't flatter yourself Jericho. I like your quick thinking, but that's nothing to be proud of. Anything that can be bought isn't worthy of praise. Especially mine. Got that?" Chris nodded in reply bringing a side smile to Vince's face. "Alright. Get lost all of you."

Hunter waltzed out first, followed by Jericho. Shawn stayed back – closing the door behind Chris. //Crap. He's my drive to the hotel.// He sighed inwardly and leaned against the wall beside the door. It wasn't until his slightly curtained eyes looked ahead instead of at the ceiling did Chris register Hunter's presence. //Just great. The one guy I love to avoid I'm now stuck with. Why couldn't this be Shawn?// He heaved an audible sigh. //May as well make some friendly conversation.//

He opted to offer a small smile. "Hey Hunter."

A few seconds went by with loud chomping sounds as the soundtrack for the scene before Hunter drew in a loud, deep breath and shut his eyes. He leaned back further onto the wall his back was on, with his large arms crossed tightly over his chest and a slight frown craving into his forehead. Chris raked his mind for a possible way to continue the dying conversation before stopping himself halfway once the reason to not talk to Hunter stared back at him. A coy smile graced the younger blond's face. //All the better. Keep quiet.//

"Don't let it get to you."

//Or not.// Chris caught his tongue before it let slip his thoughts, and composed himself before responding. "Vince is the boss. His word is law. If he says to dump the idea of getting cocky over a few nickels and dimes then you bet your ass I'm going to do just that."

Hunter scoffed sardonically. His eyes still remained shut. "Is that bravery, stupidity, or kiss ass behavior?"

"It's a lesson."

The older man simply shot his eyebrows up dramatically bringing them down just as quickly. "So, I see you have a thing for Shawn."

Chris was ready to drop his jaw, but opted to pull out a faux representation of control. "He's a great wrestler. Plus he's got his hands in every pot of gold under the sun. And to add he's even teaching us. Generosity at its finest. Who wouldn't respect the guy?"

Hunter slowly opened his eyes only to stare at the floor. "For an activist of hiding emotions, you sure don't hide yours all that well Chris," He slid his hazels up at Chris. A wicked grin splashed across his face, "There's a limit to how much you can flaunt your want."

//Asshole.// He smirked, "Is there a problem?"

"Depends on what you'd call a problem." His grin fell hard, "All I'm saying is that you keep your feelings for him at a distance or else you can kiss your pathetic excuse of a wrestling career goodbye."

Jericho simply opted to stare at the older man in silence while he thought over a possible reaction to take to such a threat. In truth, he understood where Hunter was coming from. The man's respect for Shawn spilled over to brotherly love. To Hunter, Shawn was like an older brother, and it was a secret everyone knew, so naturally Hunter would get defensive had he sensed someone gunning for Michaels. However, what stayed Chris' tongue from further prying into Hunter's true intentions was the obviousness of the truth. Both men knew that this business was similar to a bunch of crabs in a bucket – everyone was trying to get ahead and bring others down in the process. Therefore, for Chris Jericho – a newcomer and rising WWF star - it was most likely wise to heed to Hunter's advice. In the worst case scenario, one of the meaner crabs would grab his leg and pull him down using his affinity for Shawn Michaels as a valid reason to strip him of any chance to get to the top. And to Hunter's point, if Shawn were ever to respond to such feelings, like he blindly would, then he could suffer a similar if not far worse fate.

Chris let out a long sigh, "You don't have to worry about that Hunter. I plan on keeping it strictly business when it comes to Shawn and I. And I'll take you up on that suggestion by letting feelings lie." His voice downed to an all time low, "The last thing I want to do is hurt Shawn."

Hunter unfolded his arms as his hard expression softened a bit letting his hazels rake over Jericho's expression. When he learned of Chris' heartless departure from his long time friend Lance Storm – he had broken the man so far down that Lance was now a chronic alcoholic – Hunter feared that Chris' obvious love for Shawn was an omen for bad things to come for the showstopper. In the ten months that the man had been a part of WWF, Hunter was – for lack of a better term – the thorn in Jericho's side. However, Chris didn't react like most guys would have and in truth Hunter grew annoyed to the point where he felt he loathed Chris. He deemed him unnatural, heartless, and someone who'd do more damage than good. However, the Chris Jericho his eyes sat on was not the same man he'd condemned to being bad luck for those he set his heart on.

"Listen Chris, if you really want Shawn to like you in..." He rolled his hands in semi-circles to show that he was lost in thought, "...that way, then I think I ought to give you some advice."

Chris scoffed, "Let me guess. Shawn's a real space case who'll do and say things that seem like he's giving off signals that maybe he rolls that way too. However, that's not the way to read Shawn Michaels because he does that to everybody. So, my best bet is to go up to him, and state it to him plain and simple. I have to make the first move." The jaw-dropped look on Hunter's face brought a faint amused smile to Jericho's. "What did you think I was doing all this time? It's only natural to study something you have a passion for. Otherwise aren't you just wasting your time?"

Hunter laughed loudly, stopping once he ran out of breath. "You son of a bitch! So how much do you know about him?"

"Everything except how he really feels about you." Hunter raised an eyebrow. Chris continued. "It's as plain as day that you see him no more than a brother, but I can't tell if he likes you more than a brother, or is just having a space case episode."

Hunter scratched his head in thought, "Well, I think he treats me like he does everybody."

A cocky smirk sat on the younger blond's face, "Oh yeah? And which other man, pray tell, has he kissed twice on live television and dozens of times backstage?"

Hunter's face blanched. "Yeah. I guess that would screw up everything huh." Taking the reins once more, he opted to take charge of the conversation. His trademark frown etched into his forehead with his cocky grin sealing the deal. "Well, whatever. Who likes who is none of my concern really." Cold hazels landed on Jericho's nonchalant expression, "But you better take my word of advice and stay the hell away from Shawn. It'd be a lot better for you."

With that, the older blond swaggered away down the hall leaving Chris Jericho leaned up against the wall with confusion marring his face. It was unclear to everyone looking whether or not those two -Shawn and Hunter - were actually an item. In truth they had been together since the dawn of time, and now with their two man group – that stretched to three people with the addition of Chyna – suspicions grew even more. //And now he's telling me to stay away? Can it get any more obvious?// Chris watched as Hunter's large frame disappeared around the corner at the end of the hallway. The older blond's advice had not even fully sunk in before the door opened and Shawn stepped out. Chris immediately pushed himself off the wall in an attempt to stand a bit straighter. His composure failed epically. The sight brought a large smile to Shawn's face as he grabbed Chris' unsteady shoulders to stabilize the younger man. To hide his flushed face – that he could even feel burning – he turned his full attention to the tiles below.

Shawn's eyes raked over Jericho's blond head. His voice soothing with a teasing hint mixed in, "Hey there Chris. Are you okay buddy?"

//Hell no I'm not okay!// Chris quickly composed what was left of his dignity, and cleared his throat. His voice straining above the volume of a mumble, "Yeah. I'm just fine."

Once the younger blond got to his feet, Shawn released his shoulders putting his hands back at his sides. Chris' baby blues were skating slightly over the floor in an attempt to avoid eye contact with the show stopper. A slightly amused look washed over Shawn's outwardly observant expression as he let slip a low chuckle upon seeing the minor red tinge now vivid on Jericho's face. //He's too cute.//

Shawn landed a playful hit on Chris' upper back – startling the man a bit. He scanned the wide area, "So where did Hunter go? Don't tell me he ran off with another girl."

Chris almost choked on his own breath. Through the thin membrane labeled fabric Shawn's hand felt as though it was touching his bare skin. "U-Uh... He left." //Get it together already! It's strictly business. You know he means nothing by anything he does or says.// "I'm guessing he's in DX's locker room waiting on you."

"I see."

Serene tea greens instantly trapped near glazed baby blues. His wide smile thinned by the second. Shawn slid his hand back towards his side and walked ahead of Chris. It was all Jericho could do not to collapse on the spot – his legs felt like liquid holding up his solid body. Shawn looked over his shoulder at the younger blond.

"What are you doing Chris?"

Chris snapped out of whatever daze threatened to overtake him. A nervous smile cracking across his face, "I-I'll wait here."

Shawn sighed, and walked back to Chris. "No you won't." He grabbed the younger blond's hand in a tight grip, turning away the second Chris' face lit up, and tugging the man behind him. "You're coming with me. I'll lead."

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	19. Chapter 19

**I'll just say this: Shawn Micheals RRRREEEEAAAALLLLLYYYYY creeps me - the writer for goodness sake - out!!!!! That said, I apologize (even though I've been told not to ^^) for this ridiculously late update. Seriously. The time span from the last update to this one is simply ludicrous! XD lol**

**ENJOY!**

**Okay... back to the story.  
**

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Growing up in a home headed by a Hockey legend was what many would describe as being a paradise. It was just that for Chris Jericho. He was always given the best foods, the most attention, expensive toys and clothes, and he even had friends at his beck and call to some extent. However, all of that was invisible when compared to what Chris Jericho lacked as a child. And it was something no human could possibly be without. And that was love. Respect was given and it even carried 'how-to' guidelines, however, when it came to love that was supposedly natural between parent and child; father and son; Chris Jericho was given none of it. In truth, this was the main cause for Chris' abnormality when it came to such a feeling. It was alien to him. However, upon first sight of Shawn Michaels, that alien feeling suddenly transformed into something else. If a technical term was to be given it would be that what was once a stranger to Chris suddenly became the friend he always had. Love became his ally.

However, it had already been ten months, and his ally was running out of ammunition as the target was too far away to even be seen. Nonetheless, as he tagged sloppily behind a tugging Shawn Michaels and headed towards a locker room he had never stepped foot into, Jericho couldn't help feel a sense of hope towards a love he just a few minutes ago dimmed down to nothing more than a mere business relation.

As they entered the room, it was known in a fraction of a second that Hunter was nowhere in sight. Shawn released the younger blond's hand and let out a loud sigh aimed for the ceiling. He turned to face Chris with a more staid expression hardened on his face and dropping his usual cheery tone in opt for a more icy tone with a hint of charm.

"I like you Chris." The dumbfounded look that rested flatly on Chris' face silently asked Shawn to continue. He leaned his face in closer – a look of satisfaction crossing the tea green plains of his gelatinous eyes once Chris flinched a bit noticeably at Shawn's advancements. "I have for a while now."

//This isn't....happening...right?// Shock-filled azures raked madly over the calm expression that stared back. //Am I going senile now?// In all the stories he heard, or from what he could recall hearing in class, or movies he watched at the theaters, the Princess would always get the Prince she loved and who subsequently loved her. Back then Jericho knew it was simply a well thought up fairytale, and now at age thirty he never even bothered thinking about it. However, in a sort of cruel irony, the fairytale scenario was all that could suitably describe Chris Jericho's current situation. With his back plastered on the cold blank wall and two muscular arms outstretched and planted firmly on the wall behind him so as to effectively box him in, Shawn Michaels was staring dead on at Chris with a small smile, and placidity encompassing his facial features. The only thing that registered in Chris' mind was that Shawn Michaels had just said something that was the cause for the sudden heart attack that struck him.

Shawn ran his lips over the tip of Jericho's ear causing the younger man's face to be completely engulfed in red. "I love you Chris." His voice turned down to a volume level below a coarse growl. "And I want you to be mine."

Chris blinked against his better wishes – he had wanted to run if there was a chance. The embarrassment was eating away at his flesh. "W-What are you saying Shawn?" A nervous smile accompanied by a more nervous laugh was next to follow. "Y-You don't m-mean that." //That's right. I can't take him seriously. He's just playing around.// "I think you need to just stop right now. All right?"

The older blond cocked an eyebrow in faux confusion. "You don't believe me?"

Chris went silent. Shawn's eyes settled gently on Chris' face. The torn expression that screamed 'please-tell-me-you-mean-it' with a hint of 'I-want-to-be-with-you-but-I-can't' brought an amused smile topped with a low dark chuckle to the older blond.

"Then let me say it again." His face was now a half a millimeter away from Jericho's. His lips were dancing at an even shorter distance away from Chris'. "I love you Chris Jericho. And I want you to be mine."

With a strike faster than the speed of light and the intensity of thunder, Shawn locked Chris in a deep passionate kiss with one hand now planted firmly on back of Chris' neck – grabbing him closer - and the other on the wall behind. In that instant, Jericho's face was flushed. His eyes were wide. //This isn't real// Tea greens met his baby blues with a gentle gaze that had an under lining pulse of covetousness threading through them. //This isn't real// He tried to grasp the current situation. He wanted to speak, but for some reason his tongue was unable to do so.

"I'll see you later tonight." A pair of keys landed in his hands, "This is a spare for my room. I always carry it in case the original gets lost." Hot lips traced the outline of his ear making his face burn hotter and his body shudder with pleasure and want. "Room 506. I'll be waiting Chris"

That low gravel voice purred his name with a lust filled tongue. It was all Chris could do not to collapse right then and there. As the sound of the door shutting finally reached his ears, Chris's knees gave way. Fairy tales never happened for him. He knew that. He came expecting nothing, but instead... He looked down at the keys and clutched them tightly to his chest. //I'll be there.//

By the time Jericho woke up from his daze – surprised to find himself knees-buckled and crumpled on the ground – Shawn was already gone.

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All thanks to a random Jason Reno encounter, Chris was able to hitch a ride to the hotel. Jason was in love with Adam for more years than Chris could dare to imagine. In fact, if left alone, Jason would most likely love Copeland for all his life. And beyond. However, the feeling was nowhere near mutual for playboy-straight boy Adam Copeland. He would act chummy with Reno on screen, however, once the cameras shut off, Adam simply put on his cold demeanor and waltzed off with a truck load of girls trailing with him – leaving Jason to love from afar.

In all honesty, Chris was not one to socialize with Jason on a constant basis. To him the man was just too sadistic – both in his words and actions. However, it did not mean the two weren't friends. Jason took an immediate liking to Chris as he found the man somewhat interesting. Chris simply liked Jason because he had more networks than cable TV. Jason was a social butterfly in a sense and he had connections in a lot of places with a lot of important people. Vince McMahon, sadly, was not one of them.

"You all right Chris?"

Jericho blinked rapidly back to reality and turned his attention away from Reno and onto the road ahead. "Yeah."

Jason's eyes narrowed slightly once they landed back on Chris. A cruel smirk sat on his face. "I only have one question for you Chris." Chris flicked his eyes to Jason with nonchalance pulsating beneath them. "Are you already under Michael's belt?"

//Huh? Under Michael's belt?// "What are you talking about Jason?"

The smirk grew into a sadistically pleased smile. "You are aren't you?"

Confusion marred Jericho's face. "The hell would I know. I don't even get what you're talking about."

Jason chuckled darkly with strings of disbelief wrapping tightly around his vocal cords. "It seems you really don't know huh." He sighed and pouted playfully at the road ahead. "And here I was hoping to hear an interesting story."

//This guy's making less and less sense.// "Sorry to disappoint." The sarcasm was thicker than sludge. "I never knew you to be the type to drown in the lives of others just because Adam has yet again left you for pus-"

"Shut up!" The shout startled both men into silence. Jason cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. It's just that I noticed how happy you are and I wanted to say congrats. And hope you and Shawn live happily ever after."

The dryness in his voice told Jericho that he had struck a chord. It was no surprise Jason was frustrated when it came to Adam. The man got more girls than the world could make and was border line homophobic. His relationship with Jason remained strictly as business. The man didn't even consider Reno to be a friend. //That's gotta be a bitch of a heart ache.// Jericho sighed inwardly.

"I'm sorry for saying that Jay."

Jason slid his heavily curtained eyes over to Jericho, mulled over the blond's apologetic expression, and then turned his eyes back on the road. "It's okay." His shoulders slumped, and his voice lowered drastically, "The truth hurts right."

Once the car came to a halt, both men silently exited and headed into the hotel. Waving his friend goodbye as he stepped off the elevator on to the fifth floor, Jericho tried in vain to slow his racing heart beat. //Gotta calm down. Gotta calm down.// The mental chants worked wonders as Chris indeed did calm down, however no amount of self motivation could stop the heavy sounds his heart beats made once he reached the door. The numbers 506 sat in the top center of the door and were plated in gold. The keys stared back at the bewilderment that sat in Jericho's baby blues as he eyed them. //Just get inside already! What the hell's the matter with me?// Inhaling a deep long breath, Jericho composed himself, steadied his heart rate and wrapped his fingers around the door knob. The first key failed. The second key turned inside the lock, a loud click followed and soon the door cracked open. //Just act normal and everything will be -//

The usually bright ceiling lights that lit up each room in the hotel were dimmed in room 506. And to Jericho's utter disbelief, Shawn Michaels was standing in front of the bed a few feet ahead and staring at him with a sly grin on his face. In truth, the sight knocked Jericho speechless, but what caused his body to suddenly go numb as if on ice was the fact that Shawn Michaels was clad in nothing more than a towel – a short towel. Upon seeing the tanned torso with the slightly visible spread of manicured chest hair along with equally tanned limbs -defined with just about the same amount of muscle and tone that made up Michaels abs - caused Jericho to blush with high intensity. So much so that it burned him. And the fact that he silently wanted the towel to just vanish did not help his current embarrassing situation at all. //H-He's even hotter than I imagined!// Jericho gawked at Shawn- who now had an amused look on his face. //Crap! I can't just stand in the doorway like this! Move body!// Despite the mental will, neither Jericho's body, nor eyes could tear away from the older blond. Under the calm gaze of those all too familiar tea greens; Jericho was nailed to the floor on which he stood. The only thing that registered in his mind – aside from wishing desperately to wipe the look of shock and amazement off his face replacing it with a more composed and casual look – was the fact that Shawn Michaels was slowly approaching him.

"So," Shawn's voice was nothing more than a soft husky tone. "What'll it be Chris? Are you coming and staying, coming and going," He stood directly ahead of Chris with his index finger trailing down the length of Jericho's clothed torso, "or are you coming and _coming_?"

Chris balled his hands into tight fists to resist the sudden tremor that threatened to wash over his body. His voice shook slightly with nervousness. "U-Um...I'm c-c-co -"His reddened ears caught the small scoff that escaped Shawn's lips. It was all he needed to regain control. "I'll be staying."

Shawn chuckled as he slightly tilted his head upwards, "Alright." He walked to the door and gave it a gentle push to shut it. The sound of the lock clicking notified that the door had closed. Shawn faced Chris with a playful smile, "So let's have a drink then. And you must be starving so go ahead and order room service."

He walked by a standstill Jericho and dropped his weight effortlessly onto the bed – bouncing back a little at the intensity behind the fall. He pasted his back against the headboard and patted the empty space beside him.

"Come on Chris. Don't just stand there." Shawn gave him a glass filled with red wine.

Chris slowly walked over to the bed but did not sit down. "Thanks" He drank a short while after Shawn did – finishing the glass almost instantly.

Shawn finished his drink and took the glass from Jericho. He rested both glasses near the bottle on the night stand beside the bed. Chris flicked his eyes round a bit before looking back at Shawn.

"Um... so what are we doing?"

Shawn laughed a bit, "Well we're gonna eat once you order some food and have a few more drinks and just go to bed I guess."

The disappointment muddled with shock sat on Jericho's face. //Careful Chris. Don't look desperate.// "I-Is that _all_ we're doing?"

"Yeah." The blunt answer stunned Chris. Shawn stared at Chris for a moment before narrowing his eyes at the younger blond. "Unless you had something else in mind."

The blush on his face simply got redder in an instant. "A-Actually I -" //I wanted to sleep with you as soon as I got here!// "I..." Shawn peered at Chris – eyes still narrowed slightly. Chris looked to his left, "I want some lobster." //Lobster?!// He caved silently under the pressure of embarrassment. //My life is over.//

Shawn chuckled softly as he released a loud sigh. He raked his gentle greens over Jericho's perplexed expression that was marred with desire. //He's too cute.// The older blond grabbed Jericho's hand, and with one hard tug, effortlessly pulled the younger man down onto his chest. Jericho's face gently landed in the crevice of Shawn's muscular shoulder. Before he had time to even process what happened, Shawn's hands were clutching tightly around the back of his neck and his side – welding Chris onto his body. The scent of Ivory soap mixed with something that could only be defined as masculinity intoxicated Jericho instantly. His heart almost beat out of his chest.

"Honestly, I want nothing more than to ravish you right here and now, but I want you to enjoy yourself. I don't want your first time to be something you'll end up regretting or hating for the rest of your life Chris." Shawn's tone lowered- and although Chris was unable to see it – his facial expression and smile went deadpan with seriousness. "The last thing I want to do is hurt you."

It took everything Chris had not to just go into immediate cardiac arrest. The sound of Shawn's husky voice, his scent filling all of Jericho's odor receptors topped with the soft feel of Shawn's muscles pressed tightly against his body caused Chris to momentarily lose his mind. Shortly after, Shawn eased Jericho's body off his and cupped the younger man's towering face tenderly in his hands. His smile was broad and bright.

"And it's not good to work on an empty stomach. It's basic knowledge, _Chrissy_."

The nickname rolling off Shawn's tongue brought a large smile to Jericho's face. "Yeah you're right."

Shawn released Chris' face allowing the younger man to sit beside him. "I've gotta to tell you, I'm not a huge fan of sea food. Give me steak and bacon any day baby!"

The laugh came without warning leading to Chris forcing himself to stop. "So how about you order what you like then?"

"Nah." Shawn gently rubbed Jericho's left cheek in thought. "Tonight is Chris night. We'll do and have only the things you want. Okay?"

"Sure." Chris leaned forward and planted a small kiss on Shawn's lips – taking the older man completely by surprise "In that case, can we leave dinner for later?"

A deep chuckle emerged from the bowels of Shawn's throat. "What do you propose we do in the mean time?"

Chris' eyes inadvertently sank to the small towel that was oddly still tied around Shawn's waist. Realizing his reflex, Chris shot his eyes back to Shawn's face to find the man grinning from cheek to cheek. Shawn struck with a passionate kiss only to break almost as quickly leaving Chris with a dazed look in his eyes.

"Since you're out of ideas Chris," With a little encouragement, Chris was suddenly on his back with Shawn above him. The older blond leaned in closer to Jericho's flushed face, "allow me to give you one."

***-*-***


	20. Chapter 20

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It was a dream come true that suddenly took a turn down on Nightmare Street. The empty wine bottles lay scattered on the floor followed with some red stains on the carpet beneath them and coupled with empty glasses. The sun was high in the sky by the time Chris Jericho opened his eyes. However, what his eyes landed on was – in one word – horrifying. The older blond sleeping beside him was nestled on Jericho's left side and chest. His smooth blond hair was swept across Chris' chest, and onto the bed below. Through the threads of golden hair Chris could see the blond's face. That was the moment that Chris Jericho's mind began on its downward spiral to insanity.

Without a second thought he pushed the older man – with more effort than really needed – off his body, grabbed a nearby sheet to clothe himself and sprung to a standing position away from the bed. The shock in his eyes sold his inner feelings perfectly. However, the suddenness of his actions rattled his massive headache and strummed a pain through his lower spine – with more emphasis on the nerves in the spinal column. He fell to his knees and grabbed both his head and back to try and knead the pain out of him. When his sore back aches became a bit more bearable, Chris slowly stood tall and glared down at the man sleeping on the bed.

//Wh-What's going on here?!// Chris continued to rub his forehead in agony. Hangovers and thinking did not mix. Hangovers and panic was not a good thing to have at the same time. //C-Calm down. Gotta calm down and think.// He frowned heavily at the sleeping blond. //I came into the room, had a couple of drinks// He left foot caught the feel of a bottle drawing Chris' attention – momentarily – to the floor below. His eyes widened a bit at the sight of the numerous empty wine bottles and a few beer cans that lay on the floor. //Did we drink that much?! No wonder my head's killing me!// Regaining his original focus, Chris looked back at the man on the bed. //We were making out...stopped...drank some more and...// His face twisted into an angry scowl. //Shit! Why can't I remember what happened after!// The stress re-aggravated his back forcing him to sit down on the edge of the bed. By now the older blond was stirring awake only to open his eyes and be greeted with a frantic and angry expression.

//The hell?// The older blond propped himself upright with his hands planted firmly on the bed to act as a brace. He slid his half closed eyes over to every direction scanning the room. //Where am I?// He looked back at the man sitting beside him wrapped in a sheet.

Chris balled up his anger only to blast it out in a loud voice, "Why the hell are you here Hunter?!"

"Is that..." He paused, blinked a few times to steady himself and then continued, "Chris why are you here?"

"That's what I want to know!" He drew heavy staggered breaths. His head was feeling as though it was being repeatedly hit by a sledge hammer and his back once again siding with crippling pain. Ignoring it all Chris continued his angry rant. "I was here with Shawn so why the hell are _you_ in this bed, beside me, naked and drunk?!"

Hunter grabbed his head with a grimaced look marring his face, "Please. Tone it down man."

"Tone it down?! Who gives a hell about that?! I'm in more pain right now!" He glared directly at the older blond. "Why are you here Hunter?! Where's Shawn?! And cover the fuck up!"

Doing as he was told to avoid any more noise from Chris, Hunter lazily pulled a nearby sheet over his waist to cover his lower half. He shot his hazels at Chris as his concentration slowly returned. Hunter rubbed his temples as he sat facing Chris.

"I don't know what happened to Shawn really." He sighed heavily, "All I remember is him calling me to come keep an eye on your drunken ass last night."

"The hell!" If not for the back pain holding him back, Chris knew he would lounge forward and land a right hook dead on Hunter's jaw. "You're telling me that Shawn just upped and left me?! And you really expect me to believe you?!"

Bored hazels shot at Chris' face, "Believe what you want. It's the truth. He called me because Vince had sent him a message to meet up with some clients. He didn't want to leave you alone and drunk in the room, so he asked me to just keep an eye on you until he came back."

Blue eyes fell to the bed below. Chris deflated a bit at the thought of Shawn being so caring, and for a faint second he slightly recalled the incident with the phone call. //But...// He looked back at Hunter skating his eyes over the man.

"Why are we naked?" The question came without prior thought and sounded highly alien to Chris.

The older man scratched his head in thought. "Well..." Hunter folded his arms across his chest. "You don't want to -"

Tears welled up in Chris' eyes and swam along the cornea. "Just tell me the truth Hunter."

Taking on last look at Chris' deadpan face, Hunter shut his eyes. "We were drunk. We weren't thinking straight. It was just an accident." His voice lowered, "Don't let it get to you."

Chris stared in silence at Hunter. Tears dripped down his face and soon the man ahead became blurred. //I don't believe this.// Shawn's voice etched into his mind as he separated himself from the current situation.

"_I don't want your first time to be something you'll end up regretting or hating for the rest of your life Chris. The last thing I want to do is hurt you."_

//This can't be happening.// What started as a slow set of feelings suddenly sped up, mixed together, and completely engulfed Chris Jericho. Pain, sorrow, hurt, betrayal, disgust, anger, hate, confusion, suicidal – all these feelings swarmed Chris' being leaving him completely lost as to which one he felt more of. //This isn't happening.// All the previous pains he felt prior to fled his body instantly to leave room for the sudden heart ache that strummed his almost forgotten heart. It was as though someone was inside his heart and shooting large iron cannonballs inside it. The pain was unbearable. He took a short look at his semi-exposed chest. Small red marks were almost covering up the entirety of the tan flesh. A whiff of an unfamiliar scent seeped from the pores of his skin and enveloped his odor receptors. //This isn't...// His thoughts trailed off as his brain shut down.

"I think I better get out of here. Shawn didn't come back yet so he probably stayed at the hotel where Vince is." Hunter stood to his feet and looked at Chris – a bit saddened to find the man blanketed in sorrow with pain etched on his tear stricken face – and sighed softly to himself. "That was your first time huh." Chris didn't respond. He didn't even blink. Tears just poured out of his wide eyes. "I promise not to tell him anything." Hunter turned away. "And if it helps, you can tell Shawn that I raped you. I won't tell him otherwise, and I'll deal with the consequences."

Miraculously Chris snapped out of his distant stare. He sprung to his feet and walked over to Hunter – grabbing the man and turning him around to meet his hard stare. Born and raised to be respectful, chivalrous, and a man of trust, honesty and who never hid behind any shadow – even his own – Chris Jericho was bred to be a man among men. To have Hunter sacrifice himself for his sake when the fault was equally his, was unacceptable.

"Listen to me Hunter and listen well." He hesitated, "I don't believe this happened."

Hunter frowned a bit, "Look I'm sorry and all, but it -"

"However!" The intervention silenced Hunter. "I am going to tell Shawn all about what happened. It'll be easier if he knew now, from me. Plus, we can't let a lie and secrecy be the death of all our careers!" //I have to just man up and face the music. He probably will hate me forever. It's better that he knows right now.// Determination blazed in Jericho's baby blues.

Hunter scanned the stern expression on Chris' face. It was obvious that he was just trying to convince himself that Shawn would somehow benefit from being told here and now from the horse's mouth about what happened. However, that was no reason to stop him. In truth, Chris had a point. Shawn Micheals was a guy who hated being kept out of the loop and most of all despised secrecy among people he trusted. //To think he knows that much about Shawn.//

Hunter gave a worried look,"Chris you don't -"

"I don't want to." Jericho sighed as his eyes curtained slightly, "I wish I could go back and erase this, but I can't and it's cruel to Shawn is he finds out the hard way."

Hunter opened his mouth to retaliate, but stopped short. //Oh yeah. He was a virgin so Shawn would know sooner or later.// Hunter's voice lowered a bit. "I can come with you if you want."

"No." Jericho looked up at Hunter – his tears long dried but the sadness still present in his baby blues. "Thanks but um... I think it's probably better if I just tell him myself. Face to face you know."

Hunter mulled over Jericho's response. "All right. So are you gonna wait here for him?"

"Y-Yeah."

Not completely liking the idea, but having really no choice in the matter, Hunter hurriedly got dressed and headed for the door. He hesitated once his hand stretched towards the door handle. His back stayed facing Chris. Chris continued to stare at the spot where Hunter stood – clutching his arm tightly to steady his trembling.

"I'm sorry Chris. About everything."

Chris clenched his teeth and spoke with a shaky voice. "I-It's okay."

Hunter scoffed nervously, "No it's not." He paused shortly. "I've been an asshole to you to the very end. Hell even now I'm the reason you're in this messy shit right now. You have every damn right to be angry at me and I won't even try to say or do otherwise."

Chris silenced himself. Indeed he was angry at Hunter, but it was just a cover for his own self hatred. Right now, both men knew words alone weren't ever going to correct this mistake.

"But... Well..." He exhaled loudly, "What I'm saying is I'll do anything to make sure that Shawn forgives you and stays with you. Just say the word okay."

Chris chuckled stiffly, "Thanks."

"No sweat." Hunter opened the door and left.

Once the door shut, Chris collapsed onto the floor propped only on his knees. The silent tears that had been flowing and then stifled converted into a downpour of salty tears and pain voiced through heavy, loud sobs.

***-*-***

Near the end of the show, DX left the ring and headed to the back stage. They had just finished putting the icing on the cake for their massive feud. Shawn – being as energetic as ever – was still running around like a headless chicken with too much energy to burn. Hunter on the other hand looked as though his entire family had just died, and it was something not befitting or usual of the younger blond. And based on those famed instincts, Shawn knew just that.

"What's eating you Hunt?" Shawn nudged a playful elbow into Hunter's side. The younger man grunted in reply. "Come on man. Tell me what's eating you."

"Nothing." Hunter stared ahead as they marched down the hallway towards the locker room. //It looks like Chris didn't tell him yet. That's no surprise. I'd be shitting rocks too if I were him.//

Shawn's voice lowered and flat lined. "If it's about Chris he already told me."

//What?!// Hunter stopped dead in his tracks. His heart racing a mile a minute as he stared wide-eyed at Shawn. The older blond stopped moving a few steps ahead of Hunter. He didn't turn around.

"He was in the hotel room when I got back. He told me that you two had sex."

Hunter swallowed loudly in an attempt to regain his wits. "Look man it wasn't his fault. I-I was the one who seduced him and took advantage of the situation. We were both drunk and he couldn't fight me. He's not to blame for this Shawn."

A dark chuckle escaped Shawn's lips, "Wow." Hunter froze at the icy tone. "Is this simply coincidence? A case of déjà vu? Or did you two practice what you were going to say to me?"

Hunter faltered in his stance but remained cemented to the floor. "W-What are you talking about Shawn? We didn't -"

A teasing tone mixed in with his icy voice. "It wasn't his fault Shawn! I was the one who took advantage of him and the situation. We were both drunk and he couldn't fight back. Hunter's not to blame Shawn." Hunter's silence gave the green light for Shawn to continue. "Those were Chris' exact words. Weird huh?"

"We didn't practice anything Shawn!"

"Why are you shouting Hunter? Are you trying to draw attention to yourself?" Shawn lifted his head higher. "I already know you didn't. He was too scared and honest and you couldn't devise a working plan to save your life."

A frown craved into Hunter's forehead. "I know you're mad but that's no reason to -"

"Instead of lecturing me, how about you ask about Chris."

"W-What?"

Although Hunter could not see, Shawn's grin curled at the ends, "He's not here today. Isn't that just odd?"

Hunter let out a low growl. "What did you do to him Shawn?"

"I gave him my pain so that he'll never forget what he's done." Shawn drew in a deep breath, "And confined him to my room."

Confusion sat on Hunter's face. "What?! Why Shawn?!" He moved closer to Shawn stopping once he was right beside the older man. He looked at him with a frown. "Why the hell did you do that?! If you wanted someone to punish then the obvious choice is me!"

"And ruin what Vince has invested in since the dawn of time?" Shawn slid his eyes to Hunters, "You're not being very cerebral are you, _Triple H_."

Hunter flinched a bit. Shawn was known to be happy go lucky almost every second of the day, and even though Hunter knew he had this cold side to him, it was still very unpleasant to be at the receiving end. In truth, Shawn Michaels always managed to make Hunter uneasy. He was a loose cannon with skill beyond his years and enough power to rival Vince McMahon's. It was crushing standing close to Shawn whenever he dropped that playful smile and tore away his usual gleeful expression.

Shawn scoffed at Hunter's expression and landed a hard pat on the man's shoulder. He drew him closer and walked on down the hallway. Hunter simply went along with the motions – a little relieved to see Shawn's playful smile back on his face and his usual childish demeanor back in place.

"Do you want to know why I won't so much as shout at you even after all this?"Hunter remained silent and stoic. He wanted to know, but to hell with letting Shawn know that. Shawn leaned in closer to the man as they walked. His voice now a mere whisper, "It's because right now, to me, you're worth more than Chris. Understand?"

He didn't but he nodded in reply. "Yeah."

Shawn broke his hold and patted the younger blond repeatedly on his upper back, "Good! Glad you do." He jumped ahead flashing Hunter with a large smile and a laugh to accompany, "Come on slowpoke! We've got to get changed and go, go, go!"

Hunter shook his head of the thoughts that welled up in his brain and opted to just go with the motions as he trailed behind Shawn. Chris was back with Shawn and it wasn't his place to interfere in their relationship. Luckily – and in a twist of irony - the feud that Chris had backed up countless times whenever Vince wanted to tank it was the only thing keeping Shawn from beating the hell out of him. All he could do from now on was quickly get to the top while this feud ran its course, and become an irreplaceable commodity equal to – if not greater than – Shawn Michaels.

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	21. Chapter 21

_**Dear beloved readers:**_

_**As most of you know, I've started another story (Lucky Charms) - against my better wishes -and so The Walls of Jericho took an inadvertent back seat. **_

_**That along with the fact that I had to figure out a way to speed things along when it came to Jericho's past has SERIOUSLY slowed down the updating process for this story. **_

_**I am really sorry. **_

_**PS: SHAWN PISSES ME OFF TO NO END!!! ARGH!!!!! Just had to say that.**_

**Okay... back to the story.**

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The locker room was filled to the brim with loud, over-sized, and sweaty wrestlers. It was the final show in the city of Orlando and the start of a well needed vacation for many of the wrestlers. The next city WWF would graciously appear in was none other than the hometown of the show stopper himself – San Antonio. Once there, the two week vacation was set to start.

For Shawn Michaels, going to San Antonio meant a chance to see the house he had bought a few months ago for the second time – the first time being when he was actually house hunting. For Hunter, San Antonio was a city filled with top-of-the-line gyms, and that equated to more workout time. Along with that, Hunter was a heavy womanizer, and the girls in Texas – according to hearsay – were wilder than most. With that piece of information, Hunter was more than excited to go to San Antonio to "simply" check the validity of such a rumor. Many of the other guys wanted to go for the same reasons as Hunter, while some wanted to honestly sight-see the city and even innocently visit family and friends.

For Chris Jericho, going to San Antonio and being on this vacation meant absolutely nothing but sheer torture.

Over the time span of eight months, since his drunken mistake with Hunter Helmsley, Chris Jericho's relationship with The Heartbreak Kid was nothing short of highly abusive. As a means to garner some form of forgiveness, Chris willingly accepted any and all of Shawn's demands. After every show, Chris was expected to go to his hotel room –which he shared with other wrestlers from time to time – so as not to arouse any suspicion. Whenever Shawn called, no matter _how_ inconvenient the timing was for Chris, the younger blond was given a window of only five minutes to grab his stuff, and head over to a room according to the instructions of Michaels.

Initially, Chris had deemed the whole set up, and the different forms of punishment that came with it, as completely rational and highly justified. After all it was he who – drunk or not – had slept with the man Shawn had considered to be closer than a brother. All that kept Jericho together were those little tidbits of genuine affection that Shawn would often slide into their time together. However, the treats soon got stale. It had been eight months – going on to nine – and Chris Jericho was starting to have second thoughts. Over those eight months, all Chris had done was obey Michaels' instructions. He allowed the man to simply take him whenever he wanted without putting up any sort of fight, and then was unceremoniously shown the door right after. In short, their relationship was at a standstill - and sinking fast.

The show came to a close, and the cameras shut off after the ringing of the final bell. The arena cleared as the crowd left along with some of the wrestlers backstage. After sitting down for a total of one entire hour – his back was engulfed in burning pain – Chris Jericho at last had gathered up enough strength to stand. He quickly headed over to the shower room. On average, Jericho tried to make his showers at least five minutes long, even less depending on how many people were waiting. However due to the massive welts – uncovered once the body make up ran off – that laced his entire back and were still very much fresh and painful, his shower time grew longer. //Shit!// He glared angrily at his left shoulder with a grimaced look on his face as the soapy water slid down his back – filling up his canyon-like welts. The pain mirrored the feeling that accompanies wounds being slowly torn open.

Chris glared angrily at the tiled wall with his jaw clenched to the pain as he tried his best to somehow work around the massive cuts, and bruises that seemed to encase his entire body. //Damn it! This is stupid! Why the hell do I put up with this?!// He knocked a closed fist against the tiled wall to counter the agony that wrapped its' thorny hands around his body. //It's not like I even meant to sleep with Hunter! Shawn even said he understood, so why am I getting such harsh punishment?!// His cavernous frown deepened. //Can't he just....// A grave sigh accompanied his lost train of thought. //Well I can't blame him. I mean my first guy was.... that _gorilla_! He must be hurting more than he lets on. He is the type to hide his true feelings after all.// Another heavy sigh. //I shouldn't be expecting him to forgive me in such a short time. That would be unfair. If this is what it takes to eventually regain his trust, then I just have to man up.// The burst of self-motivation did not aid in lessening the pain of the fresh wounds. Given that, Chris opted to silence all thought and quickly finish taking a shower. Thirty plus excruciating minutes later and Chris was finally able to turn off the warm water and step out.

He had not even fully exited the shower before a pair of muscular arms latched tightly around his waist and instantly grabbed his limp manhood.

"Wha-?!" Chris barely managed to register anything before a jolt of pain surged through his body rendering him numb. "Ow! Ow!"

"I wouldn't be so loud if I were you Chris." The all too familiar husky voice rattled against Chris' eardrums. "You don't want to alert the guys in the locker room now do you?"

Chris clammed up immediately and stared intently at the closed door ahead. //When did he get in?!//

Panic immediately set in as Chris eyed the door. It then dawned heavily on him that all his co-workers were simply separated by the wooden plank with a knob that could be turned from the outside. Just one turn was all it would take for someone to march into the shower room only to see Chris Jericho standing stark naked with another man groping his jewels. With that knowledge, Chris chose to pacify the situation rather than go the normal route and attempt to fight it.

"S-Shawn..." The older man simply tightened his grip in response. Chris bit down hard on his lower lip. "L-Listen to me!"

The grip tightened again. "Why are you shouting Chris? I can hear you just fine."

Once the pain subsided a bit, Chris' baby blues once more beheld the door in their sights. It sent a quick surge of fear coupled with panic down Chris' spine. //Please let no one come in here!//

"Oh wow."

The sudden playful tone drew Chris' attention to the situation at hand. His jaw almost fell off at the sight. Despite Shawn's immensely tight grip – that rivaled the death squeeze of a fully grown Anaconda – Chris Jericho was hard. And it hurt even more. Shawn grinned deviously at the sight and let out a dark chuckle.

The older blond's low voice trickled in. "It's seems that you're a glutton for punishment Chrissy."

Chris did nothing more than grind his teeth in reply. Shawn grinned even more unbeknown to Chris who was still staring at the door with fear coursing through his eyes. The older blond blew hot air on the back of Jericho's still-dripping-wet neck. An army of goose bumps popped up immediately. The sight amused Shawn.

"Now this can go one of two ways Chris." He quickly moved his hands in an up/down fashion, causing Jericho's rigid stance to immediately falter. "One, you can ask me, _politely,_ to let you cum before anyone gets in here. Or two, you can prolong this agony and risk being caught in such a _precarious _position."

"H-Ha!" //Bide time. Gotta bide time. If I can get him to just finish this then I won't have to adhere to his demands.// Chris steadied his rugged breathing. "Y-You can't..." He paused again to catch another breath, "S-Stay here. I-If anyone s-sees you -"

Shawn frowned a bit and tightened his grip to interrupt the younger man. He quickly placed his thumb down on the tip of Jericho's erection with force. The immense pain that came from being squeezed to death and from being stopped seconds before an orgasm effectively made Jericho shut up.

"You seem to forget who it is you're talking to Chrissy." The older man's voice downed to an all time low with venom threading through his words, "I am the foundation of this industry. I have power beyond your imagination." He leaned in closer to the younger man's ear, "No one will ever go against me. No one will ever challenge me. No one will ever threaten me. And you are no exception Chris."

Chris Jericho's mind was at three different places – he was focusing on the door and the fact that someone could walk in at any given moment, he was focusing on the pain, and he was focusing on a way out. It was a sheer miracle that Jericho's mind had not cracked under such an intense situation leaving him to rely on his bare animal instincts that would guarantee to worsen the situation.

Shawn sighed, "Well now you've spoiled my good mood." A teasing tone slipped in naturally, "That wasn't very nice Chrissy."

Had he not been preoccupied with the happenings "below the belt" Chris knew he would have retaliated with something. His brows creased heavily as he strained to look ahead. His vision was fading fast.//Damn it! I can't think straight!//

"Now your options have been cut down to only one, Chris."

Shawn rested his heavy chin on Jericho's bruised shoulder garnering a near silent whimper from the younger man. The reaction brought a playful smile to Shawn's face, and immediately after, a short laugh. Chris slid his eyes over his shoulder to view Shawn. The pleased look on the older man's face caused Jericho to scowl intensely. The effort proved futile.

"This can all be over with Chris." His wide smile thinned as his eyes looked directly at Jericho. "All you have to do is beg."

//Shit!// Chris glared at Shawn, at the door, and then back at Shawn again. //How is one man so damn cruel?!// He felt his mind slipping from being withheld for so long. To add to the threat of fainting with a hard-on, his blood circulation was dwindling away by the second now. //Crap! If I don't do something now I'll pass out!// A few grueling seconds passed by before Chris – cornered and in immense pain – finally gave in. Through clenched teeth that threatened to pierce enamel, Chris' voice shriveled up and etched out in what could only be described as a mere whimper. //Swallow your pride Chris.//

"P-Please l-let me..." His breath hitched once Shawn moved his hands, "L-Let me...c-cum."

"Oh come _on _Chrissy." Shawn chuckled lightly, "I know I taught you better than that." Chris' glare intensified as his baby blues shot daggers at Shawn's expression of joy. "In case you've forgotten, you're supposed to _beg_. Beg like your life depends on it." He scoffed slightly, "Well, actually it _does_ now."

A bitter taste ran over Jericho's tongue and clambered down his throat – drowning the hollow space in liquid bitterness. His mind was now far from clarity, but somehow still intact enough to weigh his options. On one hand he had his pride to consider, however on the other hand – as much as it hurt to admit – Shawn was right. //If any of the guys come in here and see me...// He swung his near pleading – with a hint of anger – glare at the door. //I can kiss WWF goodbye. Heck I can forget about doing _anything_ sports related after this!//

"I think you better hurry Chris. I can't hold on much longer."

Taking a large gulp of air, Chris started his sentence mumbling. "P-Please, I-I'll do anything." He clenched his jaw with enough force to chomp through steel. "P-Please let me c-cum."

Shawn planted a firm, but light, kiss on the side of Chris' exposed neck. "Atta boy."

With a few more strokes and by simply removing his thumb from the tip, Shawn granted Chris' request. The younger blond instantly fell as his knees went lax. His entire body soon caved in and lay crumpled on the shower room floor. Shawn stared down at the younger blond with a placid expression wiping his face and tea green eyes. Once Chris had ceased to move, and was able to gather his wits about him, Shawn's cheery demeanor immediately returned like clockwork.

"With this I don't see any reason for you to come over tonight Chris."

Chris grunted slightly as he etched himself into a seated position so as to position his slightly weakened body for standing. //Just hurry up and leave already!// His head was hung low with his baby blues raking over the grimy floor. Shawn titled his head a bit to the side and smiled teasingly. A loud, barking laugh escaped the man and reverberated off the tiled walls.

"You have no idea how cute you are Chrissy."

Chris was still attempting to stand, but somehow all his energy was gone. He soon discovered the source once drops of water fell from his eyes and kissed the back of his hands. He forced back the need to sob. //Just leave!// Anger, and disgust coursed through his veins. Shawn stayed put for a few more seconds, before stepping over Chris' crumpled frame and heading to the door. He stopped short to wash his hands and then turned the door knob. The sound of the door creaking open alerted Chris immediately as he shot a wide-eyed look up at Shawn.

"Wait!" He clambered to his feet using the wall to support his staggered stance. "D-Don't -!"

The door was flung wide open revealing an empty locker room. Chris all but gaped at the sight his eyes beheld. All the lockers were wide open and empty. The entire room was empty.

"W-Where is everybody?" His voice trailed in from such a distance that it sounded alien to him.

Shawn looked over his board shoulder darting his nonchalant eyes at Chris. "They left a long time ago Chris."

Chris' distant look of disbelief morphed quickly into a look of terrible rage, "But you-!"

"I lied." Shawn smiled gently at the startled man. "I do that a lot."

He turned away and exited the room. The loud clopping sounds of his heavy boots hit Jericho's ears hard. Just two steps out, Shawn paused his hypnotic gait. His back remained turned to Chris.

"I suggest you take another bath Jericho. See you." He waved swiftly over his shoulder at Chris and left the locker room altogether.

It was not until a good ten minutes – who exactly was keeping count was anyone's guess – that Chris Jericho had finally registered that the shower room door had closed, and Shawn was gone. The urge to cry that haunted him before had vanished along with the urge to slide down the length of the tiled wall and fall back onto the floor. Both feelings were replaced by the sudden urge to curl up into a ball, and die.

***-*-***

**Me: "JERICHO!!!!!" *sobs loudly* "You poor baby!"**

**Jericho: *lying on the couch sleeping* **

**Me: "I AM KILLING SHAWN THE MOMENT HE GETS IN RANGE!!!!"**

**Randy: *eating a cookie* (It's a mystery WHERE he gets this from!) "Didn't you issue that threat a few chapters ago at Jericho?"**

**Me: *balls hands into fists and shakes them* "This is different! Shawn is the devil-reincarnate! HE **_**MUST**_** DIE!!!!"**

**Randy: *rolls eyes* "Well, he can't or else the story basically makes no sense right."**

**Me: *sighs in defeat* "Oh yeah." *drags feet back to computer desk* "May as well get this over with. Forgive me Jericho!" **


	22. Chapter 22

**Remember that note about time going by REALLY fast in this story??? Well, it does and it's doing that right now. And also, let us not forget that I don't adhere to kayfabe. I'm sorry, but I can't follow it too much. If I did, I'd go insane. Seriously. lol**

**ANYWAYS!!!! Hope you enjoy :D**

**Okay... back to the story  
**

***-*-***

Enemy was a word Shawn Michaels was used to – he had more enemies than he could count. In turn, the people affiliated with Shawn Michaels were subsequently hated by the people who despised the show stopper. However, not everyone hated Michaels and his affiliates. And just the same, not everyone loved them. There were the few in between people who stood on neutral ground. Adam Copeland was one of those people.

The Rated-R Superstar was known to keep his nose out of trouble – especially when it had anything to do with homosexuality as it was a topic he was far from familiar with. However, when Shawn Michaels waltzed into the WWF with Chris Jericho, Adam could not resist the urge to find out why exactly – and more importantly how – Lance Storm had allowed Chris to jump ship. In just a few weeks, Adam discovered the truth behind why Chris came over to WWF and why exactly Lance was never spoken of or heard from again.

Due to both men being a bit of green horns in a sense, Edge often trained with Jericho. Another reason for even that surfaced after Jericho let slip his true feelings when it came to him training with Hunter. The man was overly aggressive, and had a temper fueled solely by his ego. If his ego was bruised in any way – an example being him losing in a recent match squabble with Jericho in one of their training sessions – the man would blow up and beat down his opponent so far into the ring mat that it took five men to restrain him. Adam did not mind training with his object of interest – Chris – and he soon learned just why Jericho was a must-have for WWF. The man had all the requirements, the drive, the talent, and not to mention the look to become a legend in the company. However, even a blind man could see that Chris was purposely holding himself back, and after seeing the man's reaction whenever Shawn came to talk to him, Edge knew the reason why.

It had been a total of two years that Chris Jericho was a part of WWF, and the most Adam knew was that the man was in love with Michaels, was a great performer, and wise beyond his years. He was also people-friendly. _Was._ A few short months into Jericho's second year at WWF, Copeland began to feel a rather uncomfortable vibe whenever he hung around Chris Jericho. It even affected everyone around the older blond. People would see Jericho from a mile away and part like the Red Sea or empty the room he was heading towards. Naturally, this caught Copeland off guard.

However a solidifying explanation came after their two week vacation in San Antonio. Shawn Michaels returned to WWF once the vacation days were up, however, this time he came without Chris Jericho. The latter man was in a substantial storyline at the time so his absence raised a few questions. However, with the confirmation story given by Shawn to anyone who asked – where Chris was off visiting sick relatives - his absence did not strike anyone as odd. Copeland was the exception. His 'something's-not-right' radar was going off. When Jericho returned – two weeks after the vacation had ended – not only was he even more unsociable, but the older man was suddenly flung into the limelight but it was more than obvious that his stamina had even further drastically decreased.

With all the mystery surrounding the issue, Adam shadowed Chris to locate the reason for his sudden decline in performance. The effort was proving to be completely fruitless, when suddenly a stroke of luck – or probably fate – hit Copeland hard. He was training with Jericho once again, when he gave him a kick to the gut. It connected lightly but sent the older man reeling. Jericho laughed it off as though he was faking the pain, but the sickly colored bruise that seemed to appear magically told Adam otherwise. As if a light bulb went off over his head, Adam put all the pieces together right then and there. He recalled the conversation between Hunter and Shawn he had overheard over a year ago. The two were talking about something that happened between Hunter and Chris – who had been subsequently missing in action for a week –and it was due to Shawn's overly calm demeanor that Adam took an heightened interest in the whole issue to begin with. After seeing Jericho become more detached from people in general, increasingly losing his ability to perform at best, and with the appearance of the bruise and subsequent others, the puzzle was slowly coming together.

Now, five months into the year of 2001, Edge found himself closing the show with a tag team match with his "partner" Christian Cage. However, his mind was preoccupied with the mountain of information he had been able to garner in just two years. And the subsequent want for straight-forward answers. He went backstage determined to finish the puzzle that was Chris Jericho's life.

***-*-***

Unexpected was the word that best described their sudden meeting. In truth, Adam had already planned the meeting, because he knew that it was best to catch the Heart Break Kid off guard and alone if he wanted any form of control of the situation. The majority of the shock stemmed from the fact that Michaels and Copeland had never exchanged words unless it was on script. Shawn had just pulled his shirt over his head by the time the sound of the DX locker room door closing alerted him to Copeland's presence. In truth, DX was really not a team consisting of Shawn and Hunter anymore – with the latter man's recent betrayal and subsequent feuding with his former mentor – however, due to Shawn's status he was entitled to a private locker room. The arena that WWF was currently in did not allow enough space for such a locker room, so Shawn chose to use DX's locker room as his own.

Copeland sat his back on the wall beside the closed door with a coy smirk on his face. Shawn simply turned to face him enveloped completely in his trademark childish behavior. Adam decided to remain anchored to his spot out of caution. In short he was treating Shawn Michaels like an unknown wild beast – he didn't have enough information to be confident that he could lessen the distance that stood between himself and Michaels. And with his smile growing wider, it seemed that Shawn was aware of exactly that.

"This is a surprise. What brings you by Adam?" Shawn slipped into a subtle teasing tone of voice, "You better tell me or else."

Adam suppressed the scowl that threatened to mar his face. His smirk dropped instantly. "Cut the crap Shawn. You and I both know that line will only work on Jericho."

"You and I?" Shawn's tone flat lined. "I didn't know Chris was friends with you. That's very interesting." He eyed Adam with calm tea greens before folding his arms across his chest. "All right. Go ahead and say what you have to."

"You may not know this but Lance Storm was one of my closest friends. Granted not as close as he was with Chris, but close nonetheless." Shawn's dead pan expression did not falter. Adam continued. "So when I see Jericho coming to WWF and he can't tell me what happened to Lance, I got a little curious."

Like clockwork his smile returned. "Oh. So you want to know what happened to Lance then. In that case I can -"

"I already know you were the one to destroy his reputation to the point where he can't work in anything related to wrestling ever again." Adam didn't give Shawn time to analyze the information. "I know that Jericho believes he's the one responsible for sending Lance down the tubes. And even though it'd be the right thing to do, I'm not going to tell Chris the truth, because there's nothing he could do if he knew."

Shawn chuckled lightly, "Well, even if you did tell him, I wouldn't care. The fact that he hasn't asked me about what happened to Lance just proves that he doesn't give a damn either." Shawn rested his hands down on to his sides. "I think you ought to just cut the crap and tell me why you've come in here to talk to me. I know it's not about that defect from WCW."

Adam dropped his eyes for a second, drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "You're right. I've come to talk about Jericho." He looked back up at Shawn. "For the longest time I've been aware of what you've been doing to Chris. No one had to tell me anything, because it's as plain as day that you've been doing some nasty stuff to the guy behind closed doors."

"I see." Shawn sat down. His eyelids dropped slightly. "Since when?"

"Since you and Hunter had that scripted conversation over a year ago." Adam grinned at the flicker of shock that sprinted across Shawn's otherwise vacant expression. "It was only natural Shawn. Chris Jericho comes to WWF with a fire lit under him only to suddenly be missing in action just ten months after his debut? Then he returns with a decline in his performance while you and Hunter take center stage? Not to mention his return from 'visiting sick relatives in San Antonio' when Chris doesn't even have so much as a friend in that place. And then suddenly he's into using all of the body makeup and his stamina decreases even more? The signs were all there." He titled his chin upwards, "You and Hunter are working together against Chris Jericho."

Shawn scoffed loudly, "You eavesdrop on a personal conversation and deduce _that_? If I was really working with Hunter, as you so blatantly put it, why would I allow him to take the guy I love?"

"I'm glad you asked because I have a theory for that actually." Shawn teased a frown. "You see, ever since I've been here, a lot of old WCW employees were constantly asking about why people like Chris weren't being scouted out. In truth, you - being the scout at the time – really had zero interest in Jericho. Then one day your good friend Hunter hounded you with reasons why Chris should be the next guy scouted. This struck everyone as odd because Hunter was never a friend to Chris or anyone for that matter so why did he give a damn? Curious, you went over there and did your part and being attracted to men you easily saw why Hunter wanted someone like Chris to join WWF so badly. But Hunter wasn't gay right?"

Shawn leaned his back against the wall behind and folded his arms once more. He sealed his mouth shut to allow Adam to continue.

"Well, it didn't mean he wasn't possibly bisexual. So you did a little test. You brought Chris over and placed him under your wing. This forced Hunter to have to constantly be in close quarters with Jericho. You even went the extra mile and blatantly avoided Chris and faked the whole space case act to make it seem like you had no clue that Hunter was lusting after Chris, and that Jericho was madly in love with you. When you got the results of your little experiment, you confronted Hunter. You told him that if he was willing to slow himself down for your sake, then he could go ahead and have sex with Chris."

A blood vessel ate away at Shawn's left temple as he simply stared, with darkened tea greens from beneath half-curtained lids, at the younger blond.

"So he agreed. From what I gather, Chris was drunk which makes sense seeing that he would never soberly hand his ass over to anyone but you. Putting it together, I will even go as far as to say Hunter faked being drunk to help the excuse along. In the end, thanks to this deal, you've been getting the upper hand all this time when it comes to this DX feud and the WWF career in general. Now remember this is all a theory. Well it _was_, until you decided to use Chris as a punching bag. If you really loved the guy, you'd be furious with him, and with Hunter. Instead, your career is sky rocketing, Hunter's taking massive heat from the crowd and hated for all the wrong reasons _but_ sky rocketing nonetheless, all while Chris – being highly outstanding in all regards - is barely scraping the bottom of the barrel." He raised an eyebrow in false confusion. "So I think the real question here is why? Had you just cut ties with Jericho I would have left it at a lover's quarrel. But with all this evidence, it's a bit more complicated than that isn't it?"

"Hmm." Shawn sighed heavily, "Before I answer your questions, I have to point out what a liar you are Edge." Adam frowned slightly. Shawn continued. "You said you became aware of my relationship with Chris after you overhead Hunter and I talking. But with this elaborate theory, you've been sentient since the beginning."

"You left _a lot_ of clues." Shawn clenched his jaw. Adam smirked deviously. "Well, it's not one hundred percent really. I still don't understand why you're stringing Chris along with you. He served his purpose so really there's no need to beat the life out of him, and further crush his self esteem. So why do you do that?"

"Because I love him." It was Adam's turn to clench his jaw with his smirk falling rapidly. An accomplished grin hit Shawn's face, "Is it really so hard to believe? Think about it. I'm getting what I want. Hunter got to bed Chris, and is still booked for the title, so he's getting what he wants. And Chris is in a sexual relationship with the man he loves, so therefore he's getting what he wants. So you see we're all very happy. And it's all working well for everyone involved. Don't you agree?"

To counter the anger welling up in him, Adam let out a low series of chuckles. "If I didn't know any better, I would have honestly bought that. However, even though Chris may not regard me as a friend because I don't let off a 'friendly vibe', ironically I'm really the only friend he's got. So with that in mind, I'm politely asking you to break it off with Jericho, and leave him alone."

Shawn scoffed sardonically, "You're no friend if you want me to break the man's heart. He's happy that I still want him even though he's basically tainted goods." His teasing tone returned, "I'm sorry, but I can't possibly do that because I really do love him, and he loves me. And that's all we need right."

//This guy is grating on my nerves.// Adam heaved a heavy sigh. "Well, it was worth a shot. I guess what you're saying is unless Jericho himself gets up and leaves you; you're not going to stop treating him like trash. And with a condition like that, no one can interfere. You're a sneaky bastard no matter how had you try to disguise it."

The trademark childish smile returned. "I'll take that as a compliment Adam." He paused for a second, "Can I ask you something though?"

"Go ahead. It's only fair right."

"Everyone knows you're a heterosexual and you've basically made it clear that you don't want to tangle yourself in the lives of fellow homosexuals. You even deemed it too complicated. But here you've put so much effort into Chris' situation that right now I'm struggling to hold back on concluding that you may be a closet gay, or something like Hunter. So tell me, why did you bother doing all this?"

"I said it before Shawn. Even though he will never regard it, I'm the only friend Chris has. You've done an excellent job in stripping the man down to the point where he's so detached from reality that it's scary. All he does is walk around with a massive dark aura surrounding him that just makes people suddenly very disturbed by his presence. And it's cost him all the friends he had. So congrats on isolating 'the man you really love'." Adam eased off the wall to stand on his own. "Well, even though you're not intent on leaving Chris, I want you to at least stop beating the guy. He's not as young as he was before, so his wounds are only piling up nowadays. And because of your abuse he's losing a lot of his stamina and that's affecting his ability to perform. If you continue hurting him like this, and as frequently as you do, then I'm afraid Chris won't last long in this company."

"Why is everyone so oblivious to the bigger picture? Do you really mean to tell me that after all your sneaking around and evaluating, you really can't see it?" Shawn's grin widened. "I'm doing all of this because I _want _to run him into the ground. He's weak. And since he's letting me do what I want without even putting up so much as a fight, then he's definitely the weak link we can't afford to have in this company."

Taken aback, Adam snapped without any hesitation. His anger blazing forward, "Are you serious?! How much must you do to him before you're finally satisfied?! You're letting him take all the blame for Lance's downfall, and even having him shoulder the guilt of having slept with your best friend! On top of that, he's in love with you and you know he'll do anything to keep you with him so he will never fight back!" He slowly shook his head. Disbelief replaced the rage. "You know all this, and yet you keep pushing him closer to the breaking point. How the hell are you so twisted?"

Shawn laughed shortly, "I've heard better descriptions for my actions Adam." He stood up and sauntered over to the door. "Now since you understand the situation, I think this discussion is over. And I never want to hear of it again." He stopped abruptly once he was adjacent to Adam – who was staring wide eyed at him. He turned and smiled broadly at the man. "Oh and, stay away from Chris. I don't trust you and I don't want him 'accidentally' finding out about all this. So with that, just do what everyone else is doing and stay far from Jericho." He landed a rigid pat on the younger man's shoulder. 'Bye bye now."

Adam watched as Shawn left the locker room. The door closed behind the older blond locking Adam alone inside. He had come for answers and had gotten them straight from the horse's mouth. However, the blond could not shake the rattling feeling that contorted his insides as though they were being wrung, and kneaded by slimy, cold, iron hands. It was a disgusting feeling to say the least. //Damn it all. I knew he was messed up, but this is on a whole different level!// He shook himself free of the unknown heavy feeling that threatened to crush him, and opened the door to leave the locker room. The last person he was expecting to see standing there on the other side was doing just that.

His eyes widened instantaneously, "C-Chris?!"

Chris simply entered the room and locked the door behind.

***-*-***


	23. Chapter 23

**Dear readers: I am beyond sorry for this ultra-late update. I'm even surprised at how long it's been since I last updated! Good grief! Well, head's up... this is a RRRREEEEAAAALLLLLYYYYYY LOOOOOOONNNNGGGG Chapter. It's covering A LOT so be prepared for that rollercoaster effect :D **

**Other than that, I hope you enjoy :D**

**Okay... back to the story.**

_The hotel room door stared intently at Chris' blank baby blues that occasionally rippled with a tinge of uncertainty. //Maybe I should never have heard that.// In truth, curiosity had gotten the better of Jericho, as he had trailed an unsuspecting Adam Copeland only to end up outside of the DX locker room eavesdropping on a heart stopping conversation. After overhearing what Shawn had said, and having Edge spill all the information he knew, Chris Jericho decided that it was time to jump ship. For nearly three years his relationship with the Heart Break Kid was going nowhere fast. To be precise, their relationship had already gone to nowhere, returned to its homeland of square one countless times, and was currently on its way back to nowhere. Truthfully, all the signs that being with Shawn Michaels was a dead end were constantly around Chris Jericho. He had seen them all. But he just chose to ignore them. During those nearly three years, Shawn did not stop going out with other people. As for Chris he could not bring himself to do the same. Sex was painful. Constantly. All those countless beat downs before, during, and after sex were taking their toll. And Jericho was running out of body make-up. To make matters worse, Shawn used Chris' one mistake – which he himself had orchestrated – as leverage to keep Chris under his thumb. And that was where Chris Jericho stayed. _

_Now armed with the knowledge of the whole truth, little things he overlooked or wrote off were finally making sense. One of those little things were Hunter's constant warnings to Chris that sounded like a broken record – stay away from Shawn. At the time, Chris classified it as Hunter being an irate lover, or an irate wanna-be-lover. However, with some light being shed on the issue, Jericho realized that Hunter was no infuriated lover. Instead those warnings were for his own good, and the young blond found himself kicking his own ass by not having listened in the first place. _

_Jericho shook away the feelings of self-imposed guilt and underline disdain that threatened to creep up on him. For a while Chris had been standing at the room door staring at it from an imaginary distance, despite being only a few inches away. Here he was at a crossroad. One road branched off to freedom had he chosen here, and now, to leave Shawn. The other road was simply a mirror of the road he was already on – It was dark, rocky, and crumbling. Had he taken that road it would mean that he would have to remain ignorant and continue doing what he had sadly gotten accustomed to – being Shawn Michaels toy. _

_Chris shuddered at the latter. //I don't want to go there.// He glanced down at his phone and stared at the words on the screen. The text simply read: __Be in room 220 at 8pm. The door is already unlocked.__ It was plain and simple. Cut and dry. Heartless and cold. There was absolutely nothing different about the format of the text. It held the same instructions – different times and room numbers though – that Jericho had been used to for nearly three years, and yet he stood confused for a moment as if a stranger had sent it for the first time. Seeing the message, being at the door with the number 220 engraved on it, and having a hand curled around the golden knob all felt alien to Chris at that moment. Even having the knowledge of Shawn waiting on the other side felt strange. To Chris, Michaels – who was always viewed through his baby blues as kind, loving, and friendly – had suddenly become a cruel stranger. _

_Jericho watched as the digital clock on his phone turned to 8:01pm. For every second he was late it equated to one form of punishment. He was sixty seconds late on purpose. His hands tightened around the knob, but hesitated instantly. //What the hell am I doing here?// He questioned the inanimate door. //I should go back. I know what he's done. I know what he'll keep doing. I know he doesn't give two cents about me.// Chris sighed emphatically. //So why am I still hoping otherwise? What am I hoping for? That he'll think about our three years together and beg for forgiveness? That maybe he'll love me like I do him?// Jericho couldn't hold back on the deep scoff. //And pigs fly.// He drew in a long, deep breath and swiftly flexed his neck muscles so as to relieve his growing anxiety. //Screw it all! I'm just going to go in there and demand an explanation. I want him to tell it to my face, and then I'm gone.// Chris frowned slightly, focused his vision with a look of steely-eyed determination, before finally opening the door. _

_When the silhouette of Michaels lying on the bed, in the surprisingly bright room, hit Chris' line of sight he immediately glared angrily at the older blond. Michaels was clothed in nothing more than dark, skin tight boxers. The remainder of his clothing was simply skin itself. Shawn glanced over at Jericho with boredom soaked into his eyes. _

"_Close the door." His voice ate a truckload of gravel. "Wouldn't want anyone to see you, right Chris?"_

_Chris did as instructed, but ended up slamming the door shut. Shawn raised a quick eyebrow and returned his eyes to the ceiling. Jericho rooted himself to the spot on which he was standing. The awkward cloud that hung over the room eventually caught Michaels' attention. He turned to see Chris glaring at him, and standing guard at the door. He smirked deviously as he sat up with his feet thrown over the side of the bed. _

"_You're late."_

_Chris gave an arrogant scoff, "I know."_

_Shawn's smirk grew to his famous smile. "You must really be a glutton for punishment, Chrissy."_

_Chris bit back the desire to yell "fuck off" at Shawn. //I didn't come here to fight. Just get an explanation and get out. Explanation. Out.// Despite the desire to hold the intense glare, Chris' angry expression was fading fast as he stared hopelessly into the hypnotic green orbs of Shawn Michaels. The deceptively kind, and loving aura that enveloped Shawn's entire body still had an effect on Chris. The older blond was draining Jericho of any and all willpower. //Just tell him Chris! Tell him that you know -//_

"_Everything." Chris caught his tongue instantly. He quickly composed his mind frame. "I know everything."_

"_About?"_

"_I overheard your conversation with Copeland earlier today." He raked Shawn's expression. It didn't even flinch. "But I came here to offer you the chance to tell it to my face."_

_Shawn raised his eyebrows in false dramatics. "Wow. You've got more balls than I credited you for Chrissy." Chris grated his teeth against each other in response. Shawn continued in a blatant tone, "Well everything I said was true." _

_The older man smiled deviously at the tinge of hurt that splashed onto Jericho's face. It was as clear as day that Shawn's words stung. Chris could feel himself deflating - similar to a balloon slowly releasing air – and he cursed himself for it. //What was I even hoping for? That maybe he lied to Edge?// He bit into his lower lip to suppress the tears. Death was better than crying in front of Shawn. //I hate this! I should have never bothered coming!//_

_Shawn chuckled lightly. "Really Chris. You should have just asked me to confirm everything at the locker room."_

_Chris hardened his tone and expression. "Backstage is not the setting for a private conversation. You of all people should know that."_

"_Good grief!" Shawn let out a loud laugh. "You're just full of shitty surprises aren't you? I can't believe you actually remembered that!" His face instantly wore nonchalance in bright colours. "Well now you understand. And you've wasted too much of my time in the process, so unless you want to meet your maker tonight, then I suggest you get a move on with pleasing me." _

_Chris could feel the thick, black liquid rage slowly replacing his blood. He balled his hands into tight fists to momentarily subside the anger. _

"_Why did you do it?" Shawn cocked an eyebrow. Chris continued in his low, stony tone – his expression becoming more vacant with distance in his blue eyes. "Since that time with Hunter you've made loving you a living Hell. The only thing you have left to do is verbally abuse me. You even said yourself that you want to drive me into the ground. With all this it's more than clear that you hate me, so why are you doing this? Why bother being with me?"_

_Shawn scoffed lowly as he ran a lazy hand through his long blond locks. He flicked his gentle eyes at Chris. "I don't hate you Chris. In fact it's quite the opposite really." He cracked a side smile. His tone thick with deign. "I. Love. You."_

_A blood vein ate away at Jericho's neck. "Love?! What love?!" The first bit of pent up anger reared its ugly head. "You're hell bent on destroying me and my career! Hell you even ensure that sex is painful for me! Even though you're 'with me' you still sleep around! And to top it all off, not one fucking day goes by that you don't beat the crap out of me! What kind of love hurts the person you claim to be in love with?!"_

"_And how would you know huh?!" _

_Chris fell silent instantly. Shawn's outburst took him by surprise as the older man never raised his voice no matter the situation. For the entire time that they were together, it always seemed like Shawn could never get angry. And for the entire three years he was with the show stopper, Chris grew to hate that ever-calm nature. However, as quickly as the reaction came, it ended. Shawn's placidity instantly replaced it. His tone skated on ice. _

"_This is your first time being in love with anyone. What sort of guidelines do you have that dictates how you should be loved? I show love through hurt, so I hurt those I love." The older blond's playful smile thinned. "You fell in love with me therefore whatever method I utilize to show my affection is the method that you're supposed to accept. Rest assured though, the same goes for me, and trust me I accept your methods with many thanks."_

_Chris was struck dumbfounded. He had to blink a total of ten times in rapid succession to ensure that Shawn Michaels – the man he had been in love with for almost three straight years – was truly sitting on the bed ahead of him. Chestnut-blond wavy locks. A seductive demeanour. That trademark playful smile. Ever-calm tea greens with a hypnotic effect. And a sculpted body that oozed sex appeal as naturally as breathing. It was indeed Shawn Michaels who sat ahead of him. //Is he serious?// Jericho's mouth had hung open slightly, and he had a difficult time recalling how to close it. //He can't be serious.// His face sold disbelief. //That way of thinking is borderline insane!//_

_Jericho's mouth moved without permission. "You're sick." He did not regret the words that flew out._

"_And you're delusional." Shawn's smile widened as he let out a dark chuckle. "Did you really think this was going to be like some fairytale? You fall madly in love with me, and I do the same to you. And then I just whisk you off to a palace where we live happily ever after?" His smile dropped as quickly as heavy weights succumbing to the pull of gravity. "Lance was your Prince Charming, but you didn't fit with him. You've fitted with me. The Wicked Wizard. So take it, or leave it, because I don't have time to play fantasy with you. It's really bothersome."_

_The second bit of rage blew forth. "Then why the hell are you even with me?! Huh?! Since you've already gotten what you wanted from Hunter I should be of no further use to you, so why the hell -!"Chris cut his sentence to fight back the salty tears that threatened once more to fall. //I'd be damned if I breakdown in front of this lunatic!// Once composed, he lowered his tone. "Since this is so 'bothersome' for you, then how about you just shift your depiction of love over to someone else, and leave me the hell alone."_

_The younger blond resorted to drawing in heavy breaths – that got lighter each passing second – to soothe his boiling anger. Shawn simply stared at him. Despite Chris' sudden explosion of rage, the older man's expression was still very much filled to the brim with joyous content. The sight further agitated Chris and added fuel to his anger. _

"_Do you have anything to say?" Jericho's words strained through tightly clenched teeth. _

_Shawn gave a quick shrug. "Well since you already know everything, you've really left me in a dry spot here." He titled his head slightly downwards. "The only thing I can think of is to at least give you my reason for keeping you around." He flicked his eyes up at the younger man. "That is what you wanted, right?"_

_Chris simply narrowed his eyes a bit. His jaw still firmly clamped shut. _

_Shawn lightly rubbed the back of his neck. His eyes shifting into the distance. "It breaks down to three reasons actually. First off, I had spent months devising a plan to get Hunter to step down willingly, and you were a part of said plan. I put way too much time and effort into the whole strategy to just let you be right after. Second, keeping you around is necessary just in case Hunter, or anyone else, wants to make me another deal in exchange for your body. And finally, it'd be too troublesome to have you chase me down and find stupid ways for me to forgive you, so I decided to save you the trouble." He directed his gaze back on Chris. "To be totally honest here, you looked so pitiful when you were telling me all about your mistake with Hunter that it'd take a heartless man to be able to turn you away. And I'm a lot of things Chris, but heartless is surely not one of them."_

"_You...loved me out of pity?" Jericho's words slurred heavily. "You planned to keep using me for your own gain?"_

"_It was pity that made me keep you around." Shawn smirked. "But you're not entirely correct, because I wouldn't be the only one benefitting. You'd be loved by the man you love. I'd get what I want, and the other people involved would get what they want. It's the perfect set-up."_

_At that moment Chris felt the urge to punch Shawn Michaels. The feeling amplified into the need to wipe Shawn's very existence from the face of the Earth. Despite the overwhelming urges and the boiling anger coursing rapidly through his veins, Chris Jericho remained rooted to his spot. The sad truth stayed his muscles and joints. Jericho knew that had he attacked Shawn blindly out of anger, Michaels would not stop until Jericho could no longer work. Period. The older man would not fight back had Chris jumped him there and now, but one word from the Heart Break Kid, and Chris could kiss his very life goodbye. Knowing this, having gotten the explanation he originally came for, and now clearly seeing what truly crawled under Shawn's skin, all piled up in Chris' mind. It all made him sick, and eventually he felt the need to throw-up on the spot. The sight of Shawn Michaels through the clear blues of Chris Jericho sickened the younger blond. _

"_You're revolting." His vice chomped on ice as he stiffly turned to the door. "And I'm leaving."_

_Without further hesitation Chris left the hotel room. Unbeknown to the younger man, Shawn was waving like an overzealous child with his trademark smile spreading across his tanned face, and had mouthed the words "see you soon" as the door closed shut. _

It had been two years since his departure from Shawn Michaels, and Chris often found himself stuck with random thoughts that questioned who was in the right or wrong. Often times – especially when he ended up thinking about the last time he spoke to the show stopper – Jericho would question what was so wrong to begin with.

For the first few months, after closing the door on his relationship with Shawn, Chris Jericho was plagued by reoccurring memories – both good and bad – that were the cause for many of his sleepless nights. The remainder of those sleepless nights branched solely from the young blond's overzealous night life activities. Every blond with an athletic body who were over twenty one – gender soon became irrelevant – was taken to Chris' bed. He targeted all the men and women on the roster as a start, and soon branched off to taking down the sculpted golden-hairs in each city. Due to his stamina – that had matured during his time with Michaels – it was not uncommon for Chris to sleep with a minimum of five people in one night.

Once the repressive first few months were done and over, Chris Jericho was able to cut down on his numerous sexual partners, and even found it easier to naturally avoid Shawn Michaels. However, ridding his mind of the painful memories was as easy as crushing diamonds with a wooden toothpick. The strange aura that encompassed the man matured over the few months and it affected those around him. Many chose to simply stay away. Only a handful, like Adam, Jason, and the occasional Mark Calaway, ventured near Chris with ease. When it came to relationships, Chris had completely alienated the topic. He never let people stick to him, and he never got close. He shunned any form of deepening affection showcased by the other party the instant it was brought up.

Before long, in those two measly years, Chris Jericho had built a solid wall so high and thick that it was now completely impossible for people to even so much as touch him – unless given permission to do so. Jericho's career skyrocketed in those two years, and soon he became known as a future Hall Of Famer – in other words, an elite. WWE had training camps in Ohio and Florida, and Jericho, along with other highly classed superstars, was often asked to scout out the 'diamonds in the rough' and bring them over to the head company. Young superstars looking for a way into the WWE often offered to warm Jericho's bed for the night on the basis that he would put in a good word for them. Countless numbers of said superstars often found themselves on the colder side of the deal simply because – unlike other men and women in the company – Jericho had the innate ability to never mix business with pleasure. Hence, many of the people offering did not meet the wrestling standards and so Chris –who never made promises – slept with them, and tossed them aside like an empty soda can right after. Up-comers dubbed the man as the "Ice Prince of WWE".

On the contrary, Chris' heart was no longer made of ice. In just two years it had hardened to granite. Initially, after his break up with Shawn, Chris had to consciously avoid the man as best he could until it forcibly became a habit. Certain intricacies that had stuck, like his five second showers and the way he never used first names, all originated from Chris' painful relationship with Shawn Michaels and the initial man's inability to simply forget. In an attempt at normalcy, stemming from recovery, Chris threw himself wholeheartedly into work. In no time at all he was at the top. Once there, he suggested to Vince the idea of a Money In The Bank ladder match at WrestleMaina as part of the program. Due to the expected success of the idea, Jericho had solidified himself as an integral part of the WWE.

Nowadays, in matters that seemingly did not hold any value to Jericho, Hunter was also doing equally well as he was now the leader of a four man group dubbed as 'Evolution'. The idea surrounding such a stable was that each member represented a stage in the evolutionary chain, with Hunter being the mentor to the two younger men – Dave Batista and Randy Orton. Dave caught everyone's eyes on sight due to his massive size, in-ring ability, and an overbearing ego fueled by more greed than even that of The Game. The leviathan – as some chose to nickname Batista as – was nothing short of a bully. He used his size to intimidate, and it was a success. The man was a heavy player too, even though his gentle giant ruse often camouflaged that aspect. The theatrics did not string in Chris Jericho who found Dave to be revolting and just a huge, reoccurring cyst that had the brain the size of a pebble. On the other hand, there was Randy Orton. A blue collar with a legacy. Jericho – like everyone else – knew he was going to go far fast. However, his talent and heritage took a back seat to one stand-out factor – his looks. Unlike most of the wrestlers currently in the WWE, Randy Orton was not handsome. He was beautiful. And more than his brash arrogance, that aspect caught the eyes of many – Jericho excluded. Even though Randy may have been the forbidden fruit of his generation, he was not blond even if he did have the body, and in Jericho's eyes he was highly unattractive.

Now in the year 2003, Jericho was setting up for another successful year. However, providence was not so kind to Chris, as just a few months before WrestleMaina 19 the young blond found himself straddled in the worst possible position. He was neck deep in a feud with his former lover – and the man consistently topping his hate list – Shawn Michaels. As if in some weird twist of fate – or a bad judgement made by Karma herself –Chris was scripted to confront Shawn in the ring. Because it was work, Jericho did not object. However, when Shawn started on his truck load of insinuations that Chris was attempting to copy the show stopper, and generally poking personal daggers at Jericho in all the wrong spots, the younger blond lost his cool. Instantly he lounged after Michaels, mid-speech, with a heavy right. The blow was fully intended for Shawn, but it slammed into an un-expecting Mrs. Michaels. The moment he made contact, Chris knew he was going to get stuck into a feud with the show stopper. He could no longer avoid a confrontation with Shawn, despite having done so for two successive years.

To add insult to injury – or salt to the gaping wound – Chris was stuck training with Triple H. Even though The Game was a bit more despised than even Jericho, he had three men in his group. However, the numbers game meant nothing when it came to getting a training partner. Batista, and Orton were currently in sexual relationship that only a handful knew about, so they were never-present. Ric Flair, in one patent term, was just too old to keep up with The Game. Once Hunter offered such a proposition, Jericho blatantly refused. However, his options weren't any better. Adam was never around when needed, but always around when not. Jason was no different, and Mark was even more vacant when it came to his presence. On top of it all, due to Chris' both inadvertent and purposeful cut off from lesser society – as he called it – he could not simply turn to his fellow co-workers for assistance. And with the Heart Break Kid being his only other option, Chris quickly accepted Hunter's offer on their next meeting.

Two weeks before the grand stage show that was WrestleMaina 19, Jericho was storming the locker rooms after the cameras went off. His target was Triple H who had suddenly pulled a disappearing act right after he left the ring. //I told him thirty minutes, so where the hell is he?!// Once more Jericho dialed Hunter's number – that he had purposefully saved as 'Insignificant Training Partner' – only to get hit with the robotic voice mail headed by a machine. He slammed his phone shut and pushed open the next locker room door that was stuck in the corner of the hallway.

"C-Chris!" A desperate voice yelled stopping Chris dead in his tracks.

Jericho's cold eyes raked over the scene before him. Dave Batista on top of a naked Randy Orton, his hands wrapped tightly around the young man's neck. Randy looked at him with fear streaming through his sunken blues. His body was covered in faint bruises colored in a sickly iodine. Batista looked up at the older man with nothing short of smouldering anger eating away at his darkened ebonies. Chris let out a long sigh before gently closing the door behind him. His eyes closed for a second, before opening with a glare shot at both men.

"Where's Triple H?"

Batista scoffed a bit before standing to his feet. Randy seized the opportunity to pull on his wrestling trunks and scramble to sit in the far corner – away from Dave. Jericho's eyes did not leave the leviathan. Batista's anger had not subsided.

"He's not here." Dave's dry tone flat-lined. "Now get out. You're disturbing us."

Chris's face went deadpan. "Backstage is not the setting for anything personal. I don't care about what you and pretty-boy over there do behind closed doors, but when you bring it here, you make it my problem."

"Says the locker room whore." A heavy frown craved deeply into Batista's forehead. "I shouldn't be told what to do from some bitch who lost his master while in heat." He drew closer to Chris. "Unless you want to be eating through a straw for the rest of your life, I suggest you turn around and leave now, old man."

//I can't talk to this pea brain.// He glanced over at Randy. The young brunette was staring wide-eyed at both Dave and Jericho. Chris eyed the man's bruised skin noting the fluctuation of tan and dark purple. //He's wearing body make-up.// He frowned at Batista – who had stopped a menacing twelve centimeters ahead of him. "You're just puffing steam Batista. It seems I'll have to make this simple enough for you to understand."

"What did you just say?!" Without a second thought Dave charged forward, grabbed Jericho by the neck and slammed the man into the wall beside the door. "Maybe you couldn't hear me from so far away. I told you to get the hell out of my face!"

Being this close to the leviathan for the first time ever, Jericho was understandably afraid. However, not one to wear emotions on his face, no one looking would know. His placid expression and the boredom in his eyes formed a look of utter fearlessness as he looked into the terrifying eyes of the angered leviathan.

"In five minutes, the cleaning crew will come back here to lock up and do their jobs." Dave raised an eyebrow – a bit shocked at Chris' undaunted reaction to the current situation. Chris continued in a dry, yet hoarse tone. "Had I not come in they would have seen you and Orton, and from there we would have an issue with Vince. Now the boss loves his money, and you two are worth a lot of it, so he'd do everything to keep you both out of trouble." He cracked a small smirk. "That is if no one complains."

Dave loosened his grip. "What do you mean by -"

Jericho intervened, "I mean if I were to tell Vince that you're beating down Orton here behind closed doors, and hindering the kid's performance, then he'd have no choice but to get rid of the problem. And that would be you." Dave frowned a bit at the remark. Chris quickly continued. "I'll make a deal with you Batista."

Dave completely set Chris down. His arms now folded across his chest. "What kind of deal?"

"You and Orton cease this sexual relationship you both have with each other and keep it strictly business. You don't lay a hand on the kid unless it's scripted, and even then you make sure to hold back." Chris flexed his neck slightly to get the blood flowing. "Do that, and you have my word that I'll keep everything I know a secret."

"Words are cheap." Dave eyed the older man with desire coursing over both eyes. "How about you put down a deposit on that promise of yours and I'll take the deal. And I don't take cash."

"I see." Jericho scoffed slightly. "In that case the deal's off."

Dave flinched a bit at Jericho's blatant remark. "W-What?"

Jericho stared deadpan at the larger man. His baby blue eyes void of any emotion. "Thanks to hearsay you've been able to gather some information about my sexual lifestyle. If you were anything resembling a smart man, you'd have looked into the topic instead of skimming the surface."

Dave's anger returned. Thick venom laced his tone. "I know you fuck people men or women, and that you used to be Shawn's toy!"

"That's all you know?" Chris chuckled lowly. "You're even more dim-witted than I gave you credit for." Dave's expression hardened with anger. "If you weren't, you would have known my most basic rule when it comes to sex." He walked closer to Dave, standing adjacent to the man. "Must be blond and coupled with a chiseled body. You are neither."

Batista lashed out to hit Jericho with a heavy right, but Chris easily dodged by gunning closer to where Randy was still seated. The larger man thrashed around glaring heavily at Jericho. He lounged forward once more, but Jericho simply shook his head slowly as he eyed a crumpled Randy Orton.

"Hit me and you can forget about wrestling." His low tone stopped Dave dead in his tracks. Jericho curtained his eyes slightly. His eyes stuck on Randy. "I'll give you one last chance to use what little brains you have Batista. Choose my terms. Or choose life on the streets."

Dave growled as he forcibly withdrew his fist. He glared harshly at Jericho's back, before finally giving in. "Fuck you!"

The leviathan turned away, exited the locker room, and slammed the door shut behind him leaving Orton alone with Jericho. Placid baby blues raked over Randy's shocked expression, before breaking away to turn and look at the door. Randy slowly stood to his feet, using the locker as a brace to stand straight.

"Hey Chr-" Orton's tone was racked with nerves.

Chris' blatant tone struck faster than lightning. "Don't call my name. You don't have the right." He half-turned to look at Orton. "Do you know where Hunter is?"

"H-He's probably back at the hotel talking strategy with Ric." His voice grew a bit more confident. "H-How did you do that? I mean, thank you for doing that, but Dave might not listen to you."

Jericho gave a faint side smile. "And that's where your own strength comes in." He turned away.

A large smile hit Randy's face. "You know I always thought you were some cold, heartless piece of trash."

Jericho scoffed slightly. "That's putting it mildly right."

"But I don't think that anymore." He placed a hand on the older man's shoulder wheeling him around. Jericho's nonchalant expression was still very much there. "Seriously, thanks for doing what you did. You really saved me." His voice downed to a mere whisper. "I bet you're wondering how I got into this whole mess, and why I allowed the mess to keep going right."

"I have no interest in your personal life Orton. And don't mistake my actions for something mirroring heroism. Contrary to my slogan I don't make it my duty to save anybody but myself." He flicked Orton's hand off his shoulder. "And unless I tell you to or it's on script, you don't ever touch me. I made that deal with Batista, but nothing's keeping me from telling Vince that the man he saw as the future of the WWE turned out to be a wimp who likes to be a punching bag."

Orton's soothing demeanor turned ugly in an instant. Without a second thought, he landed a hard punch on Jericho's jaw. The older man staggered to one-knee. After about two seconds, Randy suddenly wished to take back what he did, and quickly offered his hand to help Jericho to his feet. The older man swatted away the help, and stood on his own. He clutched his bruised jaw.

/Crap! What am I doing?!//"I-I'm so sorry!" Randy blurted. "It's just that you were so... and I... oh shit!"

Jericho sparked up a snide smile. "Do you apologize to the guys you beat down every week on the show?"

"N-No." Randy's tone hit uncertainty.

"So don't apologize. When you hit someone, you have a good reason, and you've already considered all of the consequences." He massaged his jaw some more. His eyes got a glimpse of his wristwatch. "I have to go. I've wasted too much time with you."

He turned sharply to leave. His hands barely wrapped around the door, before a shout from Randy ceased his movements.

"I don't like to owe anybody, so if you ever need help you know who to call."

"Yeah." Chris scoffed. "Myself."

He opened the door quickly, closing it gently behind him. Randy simply stared at the closed door, a wide smile on his face.

Bribes seemed to work on everyone in 2003. Chris had to merely give Jason Adam's new phone number for the man to agree to Jericho's demands – driving him to the hotel where Hunter was at. Jericho was a huge spender when it came on to certain things. Hotels were one of them. The hotel most of the superstars were currently in was a measly four star hotel, and was close to the arena. Chris chose the five star hotel almost a mile away. His car was currently under maintenance, so he had to rely on the rentals. However, Jericho's inability to make direct choices that did not revolve around what was the most expensive swayed him from renting a car from the nearby dealer. Instead he chose to go back to hitchhiking from friends. Reno drove Jericho to the hotel after being handed Copeland's new cell phone number.

The drive to the hotel was quiet – minus the radio noises – and in just a few minutes the men reached the hotel. Jericho jumped out and headed to the reception area. Tipping the redhead receptionist out of the good in his heart seemed to be the right move as not only was Jericho given Hunter's room number he was even given a spare key for the door. Key and number in hand, Jericho sprinted five floors up via elevator and headed to the room at the end of the hallway. //Why the hell do I have to go looking for this bastard?// He reached the door, lifted his hand and landed a hard series of knocks. The door remained closed. //Great. Now I have to -// Jericho's mind instantly went blank. His eyes rolled back and shut as his body went limp and lifeless. The final things that registered were the scent of something close to bleach and the feel of fabric pressing against his lips and nose.


	24. Chapter 24

**ENJOY**

* * *

It was extremely hot. The extreme heat, uncommon to Chicago, was what first caught Chris' mind. As he stirred a bit back to consciousness, Chris felt his skin baking. A massive headache registered the moment his weary baby blues unveiled. The pain felt as though a sledgehammer was being repeatedly slammed against his skull. //Did I go drinking?// His tongue tasted bitter and felt heavy in his mouth. He slid his gelatinous eyes from side to side taking in his surroundings. //W-What? Where am I?// The room was ninety-five percent pitch black, with five percent being the blurred light that streamed in from somewhere and blindly touched him. //Is this Hunter's room? Four star my ass!// Looking down Chris realized that he was lying dangerously close to the floor – with only a thin sheet wedged between him and the cement – and in that, the ultimate shock revealed itself. He was on his back, limbs spread, and clothed in nothing more than his own skin. Panic welled up inside of him. //What the hell is this?!// He sprung into the action required to move. His body stuck to the thin piece of sheet like glue. //H-Huh?// One more Chris strained his limbs to move. Once again movement abandoned him. //W-What?! Why can't I get up?!// Resilient to the end, Jericho tried to sit up, but all of his muscles remained unresponsive to the command. Another wave of panic set in. //What?! What the hell?!// He frantically skated his eyes to catch a faint glimmer of his limbs. They were still attached to his body, and resting unbound at opposite ends of each other. Thankfully his neck was able to swivel so as to grant him a broader line of sight. In that line of sight Chris spotted a deep purplish bruise that highlighted the majority of his left side. //I'm injured?! How did this happen?! Did that bastard Hunter do this?! Damn it!// Pausing momentarily, Jericho immediately applied pressure to the injury so as to assess the damage – bracing himself for the pain. His eyes slowly widened. //Why don't I feel that?// The thought felt distant. He repeated the process, only to achieve the same results. His breathing got hoarser and more strained. He tried once more to move, but nothing responded. //I-I can't feel anything.// He could feel a cavernous fear eating away at his nervous system like acid thrown on flesh. //I have to get out of here!// The more he thought, the harder the sledgehammer in his head knocked away. He shut his eyes tightly to the pain, allowing it to subside momentarily, before once again attempting to move. Once more nothing responded. He glanced at all four limbs to ensure that they hadn't mysteriously vanished. Under the dim light Chris could see that they were still very much there. //Move body!// Not even the mental chant offered any aid. His limbs stayed down.

Just when the silence was about to cave in on Jericho, the sound of a door opening from somewhere, and the sound of heavy clops of a wooden heel hitting cement reverberating menacingly off the walls, rendered the looming silence powerless. Jericho immediately shifted his eyeballs around to pinpoint the exact location of the noise. The vibrations made it impossible for him to do so. The heavy clops stopped. A series of lights – starting from behind where Chris lay – flickered on until the entire room was lit up. Due to the unexplained unresponsiveness of nearly every muscle, tendon, and ligament in his body, Chris was unable to drop his jaw at the sight he beheld. Instead his eyes did the talking. They widened as far as they could to sell the utter speechless disbelief that overcame him. The sound of those wooden heels walked over to Jericho. With the light on, Chris was thrown for another shock as he watched the small room suddenly get longer and larger. Except for the small sheet he was resting on, there was nothing else but cement floors, four walls with high ceilings that held suspended lights, in the room. Shawn Michaels was standing no more than six inches – give or take – away from him and was bathed heavily in the fluorescent light that streamed down from the high ceilings. The heart-wrenching sound of those cowboy boot heels stopped once the older blond stopped walking and stooped down beside Jericho. His long earrings gently hitting the sides of his jaw making a melodic chiming sound. He pulled the younger man's face over by his cheeks to drop those calm greens on the petrified look subtly etched into Chris' expression.

"You've finally woken up Chris."

Chris glared daggers at the man. His frown was absent though. He opened his mouth to reply. "Da..m...." His tongue lagged on the word and suddenly felt very heavy. And parched. //What's going on?!//

A wry smile sat on Michaels' face. "You're probably wondering where you are, and what I'm doing here. Isn't that right Chris?"

//Don't call my name you fucker!// Chris wished on anything to frown. His current expression felt void of the anger that boiled beneath his skin.

The older man rubbed Chris' imprisoned left cheek with a crooked index finger. "Normally you'd have to ask me that yourself, but I can see that all those drugs we pumped into you are finally working."

//Drugs?!// In a standard term, Chris looked understandably worried. //I was drugged?! When?! How?!//

Shawn glanced down at Jericho's left side. "Look. You've been bleeding like that for nearly an hour now, and you haven't felt the pain at all. It seems that last batch was all we needed."

Chris could feel his insides burning with hate. //To hell with this! Move damn it!// His limbs were still unresponsive, but his tongue obeyed. "What the hell is going on Michaels?!" He spat venomously. The rapid outburst nearly drained him completely of energy.

"Oh wow. You can _still_ talk? That won't do." The older man released Chris' cheeks, and took out a prepped needle from out of his back pocket.

Chris stared intently at the medical instrument. The fire in his eyes dwindled a bit at the sight.

"This ought to fix that problem." Shawn grabbed Chris' limp right arm and stuck the large needle deep into the man's main blood vessel. "You see, normally, I'd just tie you to the bed and break a few bones, but my clients insist that you be bondage free, and that you have as minimal injuries as possible." He pumped the liquid into Chris' arm and yanked the needle out just as quickly. "I can agree with that, because you're supposed to be my WrestleMaina challenge. If you weren't such a hot shot I'd have been able to still go to WrestleMaina and you not showing up would be no skin off Vince's back." His smile thinned. "But that's not the case now." He tossed the needle aside. "Now then, according to good sources, it seems you've been on something of a sex rampage. The famous 'locker room whore' I presume. Or do you prefer 'Ice Prince of WWE'?" He let out a playful scoff. "But even so, the last time you were on the receiving end was a little over two years ago, by yours truly."

He reached over and gently pushed aside rebel strands of blond hair from Chris' face. Using the only muscle responding, Chris flicked his head away as quickly as he could. Something close to annoyance darted across the otherwise pleased look on Shawn's face.

"I see the drugs didn't take away _all_ of your mobility."

//Damn it!// Chris eyed Shawn intently to force open some sort of telepathic line with the older blond. When that option failed, he tired once more to speak but his tongue just lagged. //Damn it!//

"Listen Chris, because you haven't been taken in two long years, you've caught the eyes of a lot of people. I mean once that information spread like wildfire, people just lined up almost instantly. You will not believe how willing people are to bend to any terms just to get a piece of your tight ass. Had I known this sooner, I'd have been more 'loving' in your eyes and done everything in my power to keep you with me. Doing that would have made my job a lot easier, and gotten me what I wanted a lot faster."

Chris felt his mind slipping. Grabbing on to it was as easy as holding melted butter. He glared up at Shawn. The man almost rippling in front of him. "B....Bas..." Not only his tongue, but possibly even the muscles around his vocal cords had gone lax.

Shawn let out a deep chuckle. "Let me tell you a little bit about your situation Chris."

//Don't call my fucking name!// Jericho took in a few more heated, staggered breaths.

"Oh yeah." Shawn creased his brow in faux thought. "You go by Jericho only right?" Shawn scoffed. "All right, _Jericho,_ if you look around you'll notice that this place is huge. My voice is bouncing off the walls here. And aside from this ,uh," He withheld the cruel laugh, "_sheet,_ this place isn't furnished at all. So it's not a room. It's a space." His trademark smile sprung to life on his face. Confusion hit Chris' face hard. "In a simple term, this is a storage house. It's meant to store cars, but it's empty. It's actually thanks to Flair that we even got this space on such short notice."

Chris summoned his fleeting strength. He could almost feel those mentioned drugs streaming through his body and eating away at his consciousness. "I..." His breathing grew heavier. For some reason it was getting much me difficult to breathe at all. //Did that wound pierce a lung or something?// He glared at Shawn. "I left...." was all he could get out.

Shawn let out a raspy laugh. "We were never through Jericho. You may have left me, but I sure as hell don't recall breaking it off with you." He rested his lips over the man's listening ear. "And as you already know, my word it law."

A pained expression marred Chris' otherwise shocked expression. It was getting harder to tell what Chris was trying to showcase visually as his facial muscles were not working as well as they normally would. One thing was certain however. The longer Shawn lingered around, the more drawn to him Chris felt. It wasn't intentional, but his body was responding to Shawn's very presence being so severely close. And he was cursing himself for it. The older man drew back.

"What's this?" A wicked grin hit Shawn's face as he gave Chris an inquisitive look. "Did you actually think that it was by some mistake on Karma's part that you've ended up in a feud with me? And that Hunter just so happens to be the only person you can train with? That it's all by coincidence that you had to come down here from over a mile away all because Hunter was late for training when the man's so usually anal about being on time?" He let out a short laugh. "It was all preordained Jericho. Your inability to trust people because of me was what I was counting on. It singled you out easily. His tone hit ice. "I told you before, it's necessary that I keep you around. When you left for the other brand I had to come up with a way to get you back on RAW. And so I started this feud with you. I pushed Rebecca in the way so you'd hit her. You had no way out after that. I told Hunter to get you as a training partner, and he did."

Shawn brushed aside loose strands of Jericho's blond mane. The younger man ground his teeth in defiance. A low chuckle escaped Shawn.

"You know, I heard from Hunt about your heroic act towards Orton. He said you probably want the greenhorn, but you know what I think? I think you saw Dave pushing Randy around, and it reminded you of your days with me." He scoffed beneath a heated breath. His voice downed a notch lower. "Tell me, who do you think pitted Dave on Randy anyways?" Chris' breathing grew heavier and more forced. Shawn grinned. "Exactly. The rumors of them in a relationship were all a lie created by me. It was just so that Hunter felt it necessary to train with you. He too was singled out easily. After a few lock ups, he realized how much he wanted your body again. And so did Ric shortly after. I told Dave to make my rumor seem closer to the truth, so he tried to charm Randy. Admittedly, I didn't think Dave would resort to forcing Randy into submission, but apparently he was just that desperate to have a piece of you. Because of your threat, he's bowed out. It's smart in a dumb way. But don't worry he's being replaced by two other hungry people who _insist_ on anonymity. And, in case you were worried, you can rest assured that I won't be doing anything. I'm just a spectator." Shawn's eyes narrowed a bit at Jericho's drunken expression. "Well, it looks like that last dose did it. Even though you're going to be conscious the entire time, you're not going to be able to feel any pain. You might feel a sting, but nothing more than that. The guys want to do some pretty creative things, and they don't need you constantly crying out in pain as a distraction."

Chris no longer had the muscle power to frown. He couldn't even continue to glare. All he could do was stare at the show stopper with dilated pupils and a warping vision.

"What else? Uh..." Shawn snapped his fingers. He teased a smile. "Oh yeah. You're not going to be able to move, or talk, or think. And when I count to three, you're not going to be able to do anything else except pump your heart and breathe."

//Damn it all!// Chris tried to clench his jaw, but the strength necessary to do so was long gone. His vision was still impaired, but he could see Shawn smiling down at him – Even though Shawn looked to be leaning and twisting at weird angles. //Shit! Why did this happen?! How did this happen?!//

"One." Shawn stood up and took a few steps back.

Chris' glare dissipated into a distant look. He could feel his heart pumping slowly.

"Two."

Shawn stopped at the door, at the far side of the storage area, and opened it to reveal the quartet of men who streamed in. The younger blond's breathing grew more strained, but it was almost silent. His eyes curtained, but they didn't close. Shawn's smug look was burned into his skull.

"Three."


	25. Chapter 25

_**Dear Readers, **_

_**Let it be known to all you gentle SLASH lovers, and dedicated Walls Of Jericho readers, that I greatly appreciate you reading this story. That said, let it also be known that this chapter is NOT a slap to your faces. It's simply one thing: I do not write sex scenes well. I know. Why did I bother writing SLASH if I suck at the love scenes? To be honest, I was raking my brain for ways to avoid writing the scene at all, but then I thought of you. My gentle readers. And I realized that even though I fail epically when it comes to writing elaborate sex scenes, I will try my best because you all deserve nothing less from me. **_

_**So I hope you enjoy this chapter. It warmed my heart, and I hope it does yours. **_

**_Okay....back to the story._

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**

A large, heavy cloud, blackened to a crisp, hung ominously over their heads. His baby blues had long skated to the floor beneath his feet. At some point he had faced his back to the young brunette. His sunken expression was more or less facing the direction of the bathroom door. For some reason he found it hard to turn and face Evan. As for Bourne, however, his eyes had not left Chris at all. Yet, as the ominous cloud swayed above his head, his brown eyes were frozen in shock and unknowingly staring at the spot where Jericho had been sitting while facing him. Silence encompassed both of the men in the room. Breathing registered only when it became a dire necessity. The act of speaking – or even having the knowledge required to carry out the verb – did not kick in until a total of ten silent minutes had flown by.

"W-What..." Evan blinked slowly. His large browns sliding over as he turned to look at Chris. He drew in the courage to form a sentence. "What happened after that?"

Chris – hands clasped and suspended over the brink of both knees – sighed lowly. His voice grated against the back of his throat. "After that?" He parroted weakly. "After that I went on to lose at WrestleMaina 19. I then made it known that if Shawn or anyone associated with him came around me in script or outside of it, I would press charges. They backed off after that." He looked over his shoulder – apologetic sky blues resting lightly on Evan's saddened yet shocked expression. "I never thought they'd try it again. My conceited attitude blinded me from seeing history try to make a replica of itself by using you."

Disbelief sat ever so nicely on Evan's face. His eyes petrified for a moment as they scanned the bed linen in thought. "Why would he... Shawn isn't....Why did Shawn?..." He looked back at Jericho. "I never knew he was like that."

"That's only natural. After all, the circle of those who do know is small." Jericho scoffed lightly. A tinge of bitterness rode his tone. "Plus, Michaels is good at hiding that aspect of himself. It was hard for me to see it, just like everyone else." He turned back to drop his eyes to his hands. His voice was a mere whisper. "I just never thought it'd have to boil down to losing my dignity for me to finally understand." He clenched his hands tightly together. "I never thought he'd go after you. And I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you from him."

Bourne's astonishment vanished in an instant, being quickly replaced by a three-sixty look of pity. In a technical term, Bourne was giving his classic puppy-eyed-look with a side dish of abandoned -puppy-soaked-in-the-rain. Looking at Chris Jericho, now with the knowledge of why he was the way he was, Bourne could not shake the heart-wrenching feeling that boiled within. //I never would have imagined his life to be this harsh. Betrayed countless times by the man he loved and bouncing back every time even when he knew how bad the outcome was.// Tears welled up in the younger man's eyes. //He was just like me. He _is_ just like me. He's scared, lonely and very sad. He's always had only himself to count on. And only himself to blame.//

Without wasting a second on hesitation, Evan threw his unbroken arm around Chris and hugged the man tightly towards his smaller frame. Chris jolted slightly backwards to the movement, catching his body from crushing Evan. He turned to look at the man, but having Bourne buried in the center-line of his back blocked Chris from seeing the younger man's face at all.

"E-Evan?" Uncertainty was woven into his tone. "Are you okay?" Once more he tried to look at Evan. Once more Evan hid his face.

"Don't look!" He cried. "Tears from a man are ugly!"

"Okay. Okay." Chris sighed a bit. His voice soothing, "I'm sorry. This was probably too much to-"

"You shouldn't apologize!" Evan's voice was muffled as he spoke directly into Jericho's back, but it was loud nonetheless. It stunned Jericho into silence. "If anyone should apologize it should be me!"

Jericho's eyes curtained a bit. He was forcing back the urge to cry by cracking a vague smile. "Why are you apologizing Evan? You've done nothing wrong."

"Yes I have!" Evan clung to Chris' torso tightly, driving the man closer to him. His shoulders began to shake as tears began to fall. "You saved me Chris, but when you needed help I wasn't there at all even though I claim to love you. You went through a terrible ordeal that lasted a painfully long time. And you've never had anyone else to rely on! I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that alone."

Chris voice was soft and low. "Don't go blaming yourself Evan. It's not your fault."

"Then whose fault is it?!" He sobbed a bit, but calmed down long enough to speak. "If it's not yours or mine, then whose fault is it that you're the only one suffering? Why is it that you're always the one rescuing people, but no one ever comes to save you?!"

For a lack of answers, Chris could not respond. Instead he simply sat still listening to Evan's stifled sobs. The feel of heated tears dripping down his spine alerted Jericho to the fact that Bourne was crying hard. In truth, Jericho was expecting a reaction from Evan. After all, anyone would react to hearing such a horrific and sickening story. Hate, disgust, and shock were the reactions Chris Jericho was more than prepared to garner from talking about his past consisting of Michaels. However, Evan threw him a curve ball. Instead of hating Jericho for shattering his image of a strong, proud man, the young brunette hated himself for doing the impossible – saving past Chris from Shawn's clutches. Disgust was replaced by the feeling of utter sadness. Bourne was brought to tears by Chris' story and was currently squeezing the older man with all his strength instead of avoiding contact with such a repulsive creature – the description Chris had conjured up for himself. The only feeling Evan felt that Chris was prepared for was shock, but that wore off with so much ease that it seemed to not have been there at all. //Why are you crying?// Chris etched his body out of Evan's now weakened grip, stood, and turned to face the man. //Why are you blaming yourself for something you never knew about? I just don't understand you at all. I don't even understand why you're still here with me after hearing all of that.// The older man bent down, and gently cupped Evan's tear-stricken face in his hands. A small smile etched across Chris' thin lips as he gazed lovingly into the teary brown eyes of the smaller man. //But I'm happy you are.// He planted a deep kiss on Evan's soaked lips. Due to the tears, they tasted bittersweet, but Chris simply deepened the kiss breaking once the younger man stopped sobbing.

"I don't know who told you that tears coming from a man are ugly." He tenderly wiped away a tear drop that threatened to fall – that had aimed further stain Evan's now tomato-red face – with a loose left thumb. "But it's a lie Evan."

"R-Really? It's a lie?" He drew in a calming breath to stop the staggered sobs. "B-But I always get a h-headache after. So I d-don't like crying."

"I see." Chris' eyes curtained a bit. "In that case, how about we do something that will make you stop? Something that you'll enjoy."

"Like what?" Evan raked over Chris' expression. "It can't be video games though. I lent Cody my game system."

//He's still as dense as ever.// "Lie down ."

Evan did as instructed positing his head comfortably on to the pillows that rested at the top of the bed. Jericho eased Evan's shirt off. In the time it took a heartbeat to complete itself, Chris was stripped down to nothing more than his bare skin. A loud tinge of red hit Bourne's face instantly as he tried to fully grasp that Chris Jericho was fully naked and kneeling down in between his now spread legs. A set of nerves racked through Evan's body. His heart rate sped up.

"Um..." His tone was nervous, "C-Chris, this idea of yours..."

In one stroke, Evan's lower half was stripped bare. Chris stared intently at the muscular flesh bowing to him, before flicking his dangerous blues up at Evan. He crawled up onto Evan, his chest mere millimeters away from the brunette's. "I know you're overwhelmed by what you just heard. And I am aware of your injury. But don't worry Evan, I won't hurt you."

Chris dived down once more to plant a passionate kiss on Evan's lips. Surprisingly the man kissed Jericho back rather than being scared into stiffness. Jericho soon broke away only to move his lips soothingly down the length of Evan's neck, and into the crevice of his clavicle, stopping for a lengthy time on the man's nipples. The right one was the first to fall victim to Chris' skillful tongue. Evan stifled the urge to voice what he felt. His resilience broke once Jericho playfully nibbled away at both nipples one after the other. A low moan instantly escaped the younger man. Chris smiled teasingly as he looked directly at Evan's flushed expression. He didn't stop tormenting the smaller man's pecks until Evan's moans got louder. Unconsciously Evan's hand was grabbing Chris' blond locks signaling the man to stop.

In less than a minute, Jericho was working below the belt. Evan was already erect by the time Jericho's hand reached him. The older man was sitting back and pumping Evan's erection while simultaneously giving the younger man a feel of what it was like to be fingered. Inside, the older blond could feel that Bourne's temperature was rising rapidly. It didn't take long for Chris to feel the need to ravish the man in that instant. He forcibly toned the urge down, letting Evan get used to his touch. On the other end, Evan was squirming and arching his back slightly almost every second like a man possessed. Everything felt good, and strange, with a tinge of pain mixed in. His voice was making sounds that were alien to him. They were startlingly pleasing to the ear. Jericho stopped, and leaned onto Evan once more when he noted the man closing his eyes. He rested his lips right over Evan's ear.

"Evan," His voice hit gravel. "You have to open your eyes."

"But..." Evan croaked. Brown eyes still welded shut. "I-It's too...embarrassing."The word lolled off his tongue with much effort behind it.

Chris chuckled a bit. He held Evan's face gently – steadying the smaller man's face towards his line of sight. Noting the silence, Evan opened his eyes, curious, only to find Chris looking back with a gentle expression. The image of his first time being in such a position with Jericho could not help but weave its way into Evan's mind. //He doesn't look as scary as he did before.//

"I feel the same way Evan." Jericho's smile vanished slightly as his tone grew more serious. "Truth be told, I'm scared to death right now."

"You're scared?" Evan's voice was a literal whisper. "Why?"

Chris leaned down closer to slightly rub noses with Evan before drawing back. "It's because I'm afraid of what will happen if I make love to such a beautiful body." He released his hold on Evan. "And this is the first time that I'm doing it with the man I love after all."

Bourne could not help but blush. A heavy glaze, filled with mostly tears that were somehow being held in position, hit his brown eyes hard. The sight brought back Chris' gentle smile.

"You have to turn on your stomach Evan. It'll be a little easier." Chris began to gently nudge Evan over, but the younger man countered by anchoring his body. Worry hit Chris. "Evan?"

"I..." Evan caught his fleeting thoughts. "I want to see you. I don't want to stare at the sheets. Please."

"All right." Chris raised the man's legs, wedging himself comfortably in between Evan's thighs. His stub nails digging into Bourne's creamy skin with massaging strength. "Don't hold back. And just relax."

Without given a single second to think if he wanted to, Evan suddenly felt the nudge of Jericho's manhood working its way into him. Immediately, the younger man grabbed on to Chris – cursing his other arm for being broken at the moment. He winced a bit against the pain, but Jericho simply came down and planted tortuous kisses systematically over Evan's torso. Once he was in, Jericho rocked slightly to get Evan to mold to his rhythm. The younger man easily fit the mold and soon was moving the hips he never thought he had. To say pain was racking his body would be mildly putting what he felt when Jericho started to move with a bit more speed. For every fit of pain a fit of pleasure – that originated from Jericho's lips and tongue being everywhere and his fingertips tracing every outline of Evan's body – countered professionally.

Bourne's mind raced a mile a minute until it could no longer focus on anything at all. It was then that bare instincts took over. Jericho could not resist the urge to speed up and go harder, and the more he did, the louder Evan got. The younger man's once soft moan evolved into clearer and louder sounds that affected Jericho greatly.

"Evan..." Chris' breathing grew harsher, and heavier as his train of thought derailed. "I can't... hold..."

Evan planted his lips firmly over Jericho's ear. "Don't stop." Each breath weighed a ton. "Please Chris."

After getting the go ahead, Chris leaned up a bit so as to tightly grab Evan's legs. He pushed them slightly towards Bourne's sides and , encased in the heat of the moment, Jericho all but rammed himself into the younger man. Evan's half curtained eyes widened instantly only to close tightly in the same breath.

"I-It hurts!"Evan clawed away at Chris' upper back.

At the sound of Bourne's desperate cry, Chris lounged forward, hugging Evan tightly to him – lifting the younger man slightly off the bed and pasting him closer in the process. Somehow, Chris maintained distance between his body and Evan's broken arm. The younger man dug his nails deep into Chris' sweat-drenched skin as he rocked away to Jericho's rhythm. The sound of Chris' audibly soothing him with his breathing and a few words of comfort relaxed Evan's tension. Once given more leeway, Jericho put his body to work by quickening the pace and strength of each motion. Bourne buried his head into Jericho's muscular shoulder. His near wild groans muffling in an instant.

"C-Chris!" Evan groaned loudly as he broke down into riveting tears. His body dripping sweat, and heated beyond normal temperature. The pain was there, but so was its cousin pleasure. "I....I...."

Whatever he meant to say was taken away by an avid kiss from Jericho. The man's hands gripped Evan's body in a python-like vice as he hit his breaking point. His once low deep-throat groans exploded to a much higher volume the second he released. His body quaked as streams of pleasure violently coursed through it. Evan trembled as he came to a tiring halt. When Jericho pulled out, Bourne's body shook like a leaf. Both men were still breathing heavily. The older man tried to pull back – realizing he was leaning too heavily on Bourne's broken arm – but Evan anchored Jericho to his body.

"Evan?" Jericho swallowed loudly to steady his breathing. "Evan? Are you okay?" His voice was low, ushering Bourne to respond.

"Y-Yeah."

Chris smiled slightly. Sympathy enveloped his tone. "I'm sorry I was so rough. I just couldn't stop myself."

"It's okay." Evan released Chris allowing the man to clearly see his reddened face. "I wouldn't have mind at all if you were a little rougher."

Jericho's eyes widened a bit in surprise. //Interesting. What kind of guy did I end up with?// Chris dropped his weight beside Evan. The younger man nestled into Jericho's chest using his outstretched muscular arm as a pillow. Chris ran soothing strokes through Evan's soft hair while the younger man listened intently to Jericho's heart beat.

"I love you Chris." Evan smiled brightly as he closed his eyes savoring the moment. "I really do."

Chris landed a feather light kiss on the younger man's exposed forehead. "I love you too Evan."

"I just want to know one thing though, Chris."

"Hmm?" Chris drew in Evan's scent. His finger's now idly toying with the man's brunette locks.

Evan looked up sheepishly at the older man. "When you were with Sha -" He eyed Jericho's incoming frown. "... I mean ,Michaels, what kind of things did he do to you when you went to his hotel room?"

Jericho's tone flat lined. "You don't want to know." It was a command more than anything else, but the subtle hint fell on deaf ears.

"I do!" Evan cracked a small smile his brown eyes big and pleading. "Please tell me."

Chris sighed inwardly, "Well, there was one time when he had me sit on a vibrator, tied me down to a chair, muffled my voice, and left in the room alone. He told me if I came without him present, I'd get hit at least sixty times. I held on for an hour but I couldn't obey and when he got back three hours later to find me in the chair messy, I was hit a hundred times." Chris slowly shook his head. "It's actually really -"

"Such a turn on!" Chris' baby blues went wide as they sat on Evan's overjoyed expression. The boy was glowing with excitement. "Do you think you can do that to me? Although, I don't want to be hit a hundred times, or at all. So just do the first part. Oh but don't leave me alone. I don't like being left alone. You can just watch."

Chris' jaw hit the floor- literally. //Is he insane?// "Uh...wait a second...you want me to tie you down to a chair with a vibrator stuck in your ass, and sit and watch the fireworks??? Why?!"

"I don't know really. It just sounds like it'd be a lot of fun."

Chris felt his insides shutting down to the shock. He gaped at Evan. //What kind of guy did I fall for? It's like I'm seeing him in a different light all of a sudden.//

Chris gave a devious smile, "Well, if you want that we can do that."

"Great!" Overjoyed, Evan attempted to get up. "Let's get started."

"But!" Chris cut in as he planted Evan into the bed. "Two things stand in our way."

"What?"

"Your arm is broken for starters and two" Chris leaned in closer. "I won't let a vibrator be the one to take what's mine."

Evan sat up a bit. "What? But you just took what's yours and plus my arm will heal before this week is over." His expression brightened. "So can you do that idea then?"

Chris rolled his eyes playfully. "All right. I'll do it, but you'll be riding _me_. Not a damn vibrator. I promise not to lay a finger on you during the whole act. Also, we'll do that idea after we do this", He circled both himself and Evan with his finger held mid air, "a few more times. It's just to get you accustomed to... everything. Okay?"

Evan thought for a bit. "Okay." He sat up completely and looked down intriguingly at Jericho.

"What is it?" Chris raised an eyebrow.

Evan beamed a smile. "Let's do it again."

"Now?"

"Yeah. I _really_ want to do the vibrator thing soon, so let's do it until I get used to everything. Besides, I'm not tired yet. Are you?"

A coy smirk hit Jericho's face hard. //Really. What kind of guy have I fallen for?// "Not at all. Are you sure though? I can't promise I won't go all out."

"That's okay. You can go ahead and do what you like. Oh but make sure I like it too. Because then it'd be -"

Chris quickly pounced on top of Evan cutting the younger man's sentence short. His eyes lit up with covetousness threading through them . "Let's get started then."


	26. Chapter 26

_**Dear gentle readers,**_

_** This is it. The final chapter. T_T You've all had to bear with me when it came to this story, and for that I am extremely grateful, but all good things must come to an end. Even though that end took a long, LONG time to get here (lol). So enjoy gentle readers, and rejoice in the knowledge that although this is the end of The Walls Of Jericho, JeriBourne lives on forever. **_

**Okay... back to the story.

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People don't touch Chris Jericho. In fact, they even went as far as not to breathe the same air as Chris Jericho. It was not as if Chris himself was the one who had asked for such 'special treatment'. If anything was to be blamed it would be the dark stay-the-fuck-away aura that constantly surrounded Chris Jericho. Nonetheless, such solitude did not reside on Jericho's ever-long hate list. Over time the blond had learned how to co-exist with the solitude that people chose to dish out. As of late, however, many people were beginning to notice a change in the older man. He was still very much unlikeable, unsociable, and arrogant; however those factors were no longer the dominant parts of Chris Jericho. For starters, Chris smiled more, and although he kept his distance, the man made an effort to socialize with the people he deemed to be "commoners". The change adversely brought on people – specifically co-workers – who wished to forge some sort of friendship with the man. In all truth not everyone had the purest of intentions, but they all knew exactly when to back off so as not to get on Jericho's bad side. The change in Jericho was not only recognized by the people he worked with. Fans noticed it too as the man would linger on a bit longer for a few more photographs and autographs when history always had the man checking his watch and leaving without a second to spare. Unlike Jericho's co-workers, his fans did not know of any limit when it came to antagonizing him. And due to their lack of knowledge of that limit, they would often push past it angering Chris to the point where he would leave mid-signing. In the end, Chris Jericho was changed for the better – one extra mile at a time.

After WrestleMainia 25, Chris had his suspension erased from record as an exchange for keeping silent about Shawn Michaels' dirty deeds. The latter man was handed an ultimate loss at WrestleMainia despite the fact that he had been so skilfully probed to win. Shawn's loss was Vince's pound of flesh in the hopes that Chris would take the bait and keep silent. He did. It wasn't a bargain that the older man liked, however when full protection of his new found lover –Evan Bourne – was granted, Jericho accepted the conditions in a heartbeat. Sadly, the older man was still stuck on Smack Down and until the annual draft several months ahead he would not be part of RAW roster for a while. Even though Chris had utmost trust in the fact that Orton would not allow anything to happen to Evan, having Bourne flanked with bodyguards and given other forms of protection for the younger brunette did not hurt in the least.

It had taken Bourne the entire week after WrestleMainia to heal completely, and as the doctor had said, the young man did not have a single scar from the ordeal. His skin held no tales of the event ever occurring. During that week, Chris had moved both himself and Bourne to another hotel. The older man felt it best to move to a more secluded location where familiar ears and eyes weren't lurking around every corner. That coupled with the fact that Hunter and Shawn had fully recovered and were currently booked in two rooms in the RAW hotel made Chris want to move all the more. Evan did not mind moving in the least, especially since it involved going away with Jericho. And the fact that the new hotel was above-and-beyond private in every sense of the word gave rise to Evan's creative side that he religiously practiced on Jericho. It was no skin off Jericho's back due to the fact that after WrestleMaina each superstar was given a mandatory short break. Utilizing his leverage in the company, Jericho was granted a longer break than most so as to spend ample time with Evan.

On a small note that held absolutely no importance to Jericho, friends were beginning to topple over with worry. Since the incident with Shawn and Hunter, no one had seen or heard from Evan Bourne. They soon learned that both he and Chris had moved elsewhere. It had taken them days to gather any information as to where Bourne was staying. Due to having such a tight lipped security set-up, the hotel did not give any form of information as to whether or not Jericho and Evan had even booked a room, let alone if they even existed. After choosing to stalk the hotel for that entire week, the guys were getting restless and desperate. Drawn out to their last straw, and about ready to materialize the idea of impersonating the cops so as to search the building for Evan, a ray of light shone on them. Bourne's friends had finally spotted him. He was seated ever so nicely in the open dining area. And most importantly it was accessible to non-guests.

"Evvy!"

The younger man looked up to see two all-too-happy men gunning towards him with a fire a lit under their heels.

"Hey Co -" Bourne had barely gotten the first name out before being pummeled off his chair into the floor below.

"Evvy! I'm so glad you're okay! I was so worried!"

"G-Good to see you too Cody." His voice squeaked out from beneath the pile up. "J-Jack, you're breaking my ribs."

"I can't help it!" Jack's voice boomed into Evan's ear. "Jericho kidnaps you for close to two weeks and we don't hear anything about your condition only to find out that you're staying in some random, fancy, faraway place!"

Despite the pain Evan could not resist the urge to laugh. The act pushed his slowly crushed ribs –courtesy of Jack and Cody – closer to his lungs. "All right! All right! Please... get off."

"Sorry." Both men responded in unison.

All three men took a seat around the table. Minutes later, a slow moving Orton and all-smiles Cena joined the merry-band-trio of men. The older blond landed a kiss on Swagger's cheek. Due to it being unexpected, Jack's face lit up. Not one to be outdone by anyone – least of all his best friend – Randy grabbed Cody's lips in a deep, surprise kiss. Near the end, he purposefully looked up at Cena –smirking at the shock splashed on the older man's face –before releasing Cody. It was the young brunette's turn to blush radiantly.

"Uh Randy, John, you guys are in public." Evan's shaky voice etched in as the older men took a seat beside their significant others.

"It's okay Evvy. It's more intense that way." Evan's eyes lit up with interest. John beamed his famous smile. "So, tell us what's up."

"What's up?" Evan parroted – a bit disappointed that John was not going to delve into any explanations about why intensity mattered. "Well, I'm all healed thanks to Chris' doctor. But then Chris got all mad at me because I wasn't healing fast enough."

"He did what?" Jack roared. Blue eyes pulsing with rage.

"Wait Jackie." Evan smiled brightly. "It was only because we slept together so many times that I wasn't healing properly. So he told me to ether get healed or we couldn't do it anymore. So I got healed."

From Randy to Cena and all the men in between, jaws were slammed to the floor. Due to Jericho's tight lipped attitude, no one knew what had happened in their hotel room after Evan was released from the hospital. That was until now. Randy burst out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. The blue eyes of Cody and Jack were as wide as their gaping mouths. Speech failed them. John was the only sane one.

"Um...Evvy" He swallowed thickly. Evan turned his attention to Cena. " I think it's safe to say we all can assume that when you say that you slept with Jericho, you mean you two...uh...had sex. Am I right?"

"Yes."

His blatant response caught John off guard. "You're sure you understand what I'm talking about, right?"

"Of course I know. Chris said that because I'm so cute guys will try to hit on me using different phrases that I don't normally know the real meaning of. So he taught me the real meanings of a lot of those phrases and terms. It was kind of shocking to know that the first time he had talked to me, I was actually agreeing to having sex with him, and not just having some random sleepover."

"Okay. Good for you." Relief ate away at John's face.

Impatient, Randy intruded dryly. "Look just tell us what you and Chris have been up to since that night."

"Well, for starters Chris told me -"

"Hey guys." Everyone –except for Cody and Jack –looked up. "Can I join in?"

"Sure." Evan chirped. "Just sit next to John, Adam."

Copeland scrunched his nose at Cena before looking back at Evan. "But there's a seat next to you."

"It's for Chris."

"Okay then." The older blond took a seat in the directed spot. He glanced at the awkward cloud hanging over Cody's, Randy's, John's, and Jack's head. "Did I miss something?"

Randy smirked deviously at Edge. "Not yet." He slid his eyes to Evan. "Please. Continue."

"Okay." Evan drew in a deep breath. "As I was saying, Chris sat me down and told me about his past with Shawn. It was really sad, especially the last part. I can't begin to imagine how horrible that must have been for him. I don't even know how he managed to make it to Wrestlemaina after, and continue working with the same people who -" Evan broke off purposefully. Sorrow slid across his now curtained eyes. "He's a lot stronger than I will ever be. If he hadn't come for me, if I had gone through what he went through, I honestly don't think I would've made it out okay."

"To tell you the truth Evvy, Jericho was far from okay after his ordeal. He suppressed a lot of feelings determined not to let trauma get the best of him. But that was then." Evan looked up at Adam. "And this now. I'm pretty sure he no longer has to do that anymore. He's okay now." A small smile hit Adam's face, "Right?"

Evan smiled slightly. "You're right." A fresh, happy look instantly sat on his face. "Well, he told me everything about his past. Then he kissed me and we had sex. Then we talked some more, and then I asked him to do the vibrator thing. He then promised to do the vibrator thing only after I got used to sleeping with him. Oh but he actually doesn't want me to use a vibrator. He wants to -"

"Okay!" John pushed an open palm towards Evan silencing the man. "You two sealed the deal. I'm happy for you Evan, but please spare me the details."

"What's this vibrator thing?" Randy raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

Evan flung his attention to the older brunette. "Oh. It's when I get tied to a chair. Chris ties me up of course. Anyways, I get tied to a chair, although I'm not sure if he's okay with me being muffled, but whatever. So, yeah, I'm tied to a chair, muffled and sitting on a vibrator."

Randy's grin grew wider. "Kinky."

Cody –who had been frozen since the beginning –skated his cerulean eyes over to an unsuspecting Randy in dismay.

"I know!" Evan beamed in joy. "It sounds like it'd be a lot of fun, but Chris doesn't want the vibrator in the equation."

"Let me guess." Randy leaned back in his well-cushioned chair. "He wants to replace the vibrator."

Evan nodded in reply. "I don't really mind, but I'd like to do the idea with a vibrator because it would fit the name. I'd do the idea with Chris afterwords for sure."

By now Cena and Adam held the same utterly shocked-into-silence facial expressions as their counterparts Cody and Swagger. To friends, Evan being dense was completely normal. In fact, it was a trait more natural than breathing air. Evan having a hidden sex kitten side was one for the books in the eyes of those who knew the man ninety percent of his life. The only non-shocked person was Randy. Being the bonafide sadist he was, the brunette found absolute joy in Evan's secret side.

"Maybe we should have Evan come over sometime Cody." Randy spoke with eyes still locked on to Evan. "What do you say to that, _Evvy?"_ He dragged on the word. "Me. You. Cody."

"But what about Chris?" Evan's voice held uncertainty. "I'm sure he'd like to hang out with you guys too. And besides I don't want to go anywhere without him."

"Oh he's whipped." John cut in dryly – his voice coming in from a distance.

"Jericho can't come." Randy let out a gravelly scoff almost sensing the impending "why not" coming from Evan . "I'm talking about us having a threesome Evan." Bourne's face sold confusion forcing a deep sigh from Randy. "Do you want to have sex with Cody and me?"

"Huh? Why would I -"

"What the hell are you doing Randy?" Cody's sharp tongue sliced through Evan's sentence. He shot Orton with a long, harsh glare before looking back to Evan. Apology housed in his deep cerulean eyes. "I'm sorry Evvy." He cooed softly. "Don't listen to Randy. He's just horny. No one plans to do that to you."

"That's okay, but I really think it'd be a great idea if Chris got involved." He beamed a smile at the blanched expressions of the two brunettes. "Then it could be four -"

"What is this? An AA meeting?" A dry voice ate away at the words Evan would have said.

Everyone – except for Jack who was still trying to comprehend everything and locate a way to get over his shock –turned their attention to the on comer. A large smile spread across Evan's face like butter on hot toast. In an instant he was to his feet and running past the men at the table.

"Chris!" He wrapped his arms tightly around the man's waist slamming into his torso. The impact staggered Jericho's gait momentarily. "You made it."

"Yeah. Sorry I'm late. I overslept." He gently ran his hand through Evan's short brunette bristles, before tearing his gentle gaze away, and glaring up at the five men seated around the table. "Who the hell invited you outcasts? And where do you get off suggesting ideas Orton?" He directed his piercing blues at the young brunette.

Randy slid a snide smile to the older blond. His eyes fixed coldly on Cody –scaring the man – as he looked for a reply, before dropping back on Jericho. "I thought Evan would be okay with it, because it looks like he's okay with _a lot_ of things."

Jericho frowned slightly at the insinuation. //What a bunch of vultures. Evan must have been forced to tell them everything.// He quickly washed the thought away and, following Evan's lead, walked over to join the table. Bourne took a seat and Chris sat down on the empty chair beside him. His frown still heavy on his face.

"Why are you people here? Can't I go for one second without seeing your unwanted faces?"

"Jericho! You bastard I've got a few words for you!" All eyes landed on Jack who had finally been able to completely register reality.

"I don't talk to strangers." Chris responded bluntly.

Jack's expression contorted under the pressure of anger. "How dare you force Evvy to have sex with you only to get mad with him right after?" He roared.

"Force?" Chris' stare darkened. His voice downed in volume. "As if I'd stoop so low as to use tactics like that. Don't lump me in the same lowly class as your bed warmer Cena."

John's eyes lit up with silent rage. "That's uncalled for Jericho."

Chris stared deadpan at the younger blond. "Your existence is uncalled for Cena."

"And we're all going to get along." Adam cut in extinguishing the sparks that flew between the two men.

Cold blues lingered on John before turning to Evan. They immediately went warm. "Where were you this morning?"

"Oh." The younger man's mood brightened. He was glad for the attention. "I got hungry so I came down for some blue berry pancakes. They were _so_ good. You have to try some tomorrow. Anyways, I ate breakfast, and I meant to come back right away, but then I was waiting on you to come down for your breakfast and then they came along so I didn't. Sorry."

Chris coughed up a small smile. He gently scrubbed Evan's hair finalizing the gesture by planting a gentle kiss on the younger man's forehead. Bourne's face lit up in liquid red. "Don't worry about it." He leaned back in his chair, slipping into his monotonic demeanor. "Now, because they're your friends Evan, I can understand why Rhodes and Mr-I-don't-know-who-he-is blond guy sitting over there are here." Swagger frowned heavily at Jericho. Chris patently ignored him. "I even get why you're here Orton being Cody's shadow and all. However you better maintain distance when it comes to Evan." He drew in a deep breath. "I don't understand, however, why Cena and his sidekick Edge are present."

Cena rolled his eyes. Adam forced a fake smile. "Funny. Real fucking funny Jericho."

"Don't worry about me Jericho," Randy smiled wickedly as he wrapped a muscular tattooed arm around an unsuspecting Cody pulling the man to his frame. "I've got all I need right here." He gazed down lovingly at Rhodes, "Right Cody?" Cody nodded his reply.

"Listen here you cocky bastard," Jack's harsh tone cut in deep– startling Evan and bringing attention to himself. "We're here because you kidnapped Evvy and refused to tell us what happened to him. Do you have any idea how worried we were? We're his friends, and you selfishly stored him away from us! You are _not_ the only one who cares about him! We love him just as much as you do!" Jack's words touched Evan's heart. They did not have the same effect on Jericho. Noting that fact, Jack's disdain for the older blond heavily affected his fast-climbing temper. "Just tell me one thing, did you go hurting Evan? Is that why you clammed up when we asked about him? Is that why you hid him away for a whole week? You better hope to God you didn't hurt him Jericho!"

Evan – aiming to pacify – started to answer, but hadn't even gotten a single letter out before Chris stepped in. "What Evan and I do is none of yours, or anyone else's business." Swagger's hateful glare intensified. "And besides, you don't even trust me. So what is there to gain if I answer you with the truth?"

"He didn't hurt me Jackie." Jack turned to Evan with a bit of concern splashing onto his face. Bourne's soothing voice effectively calmed the blond down. "I already told you, Chris is nice by nature. He's completely incapable of hurting people. He's slow to anger. I mean, remember when he wouldn't even yell at the guy's back at the training camp even when they got on his nerves?"

Jericho gawked at Evan with the feeling of astonishment streaming over his expression. The younger man blushed hard from suddenly having Jericho looking straight at him a little bit surprised as to what was said. Everyone turned their full attention to Bourne.

"How did you know that?" Jericho's voice dropped the monotone and trailed in from a distance.

"I...um..." Evan twiddled his thumbs nervously. It was obvious he was not used to being the center of attention. "I -"

"He was one of those guys who got on your nerves." Both Jericho and Bourne looked over to Jack. "He did it on a dare even though he was scared you'd get mad at him. But you didn't. From then he's been convinced you're Mr. Nice Guy." He scoffed harshly at Jericho's confused expression. "What? Your over-rated mind can't recall something so easy?"

Chris purposely ignored the obvious crude tone in Jack's voice. His blue eyes searched the distance, "I honestly don't -"

"Training is for stiffs like you." Chris looked over at Evan. "What's the point when everyone knows that the only way to the top is by sucking balls, kissing ass, and taking it in the rear?"

Jericho's eyes widened slowly – at first – quickening with each passing second.

After the fall of WCW, and the subsequent transition of WWF into WWE only a few years afterwords, Vince sent out scouts to the two training camps – Ohio Valley Wrestling and Florida Championship Wrestling. On his scouting assignment at the Ohio Valley Wrestling camp, Chris Jericho was one many of the young wrestlers either admired or loathed. The latter often weighed more, and coupled along with the fact that Jericho was colder than ice itself but had skill and talent beyond their years, it was not uncommon for Chris to have guys disrespect him on a constant basis. At the time, unbeknown to everyone, Chris had separated himself so far from reality in a sole effort to suppress all signs of trauma sustained after Shawn. Hence was the reason that the constant childish pranks and taunts were deemed below insignificant in Jericho's eyes, and did not sway the man from doing his job. He scouted the young men, aided in their training and development, and when his tenor was up, he washed his hands clean of the rookies and left.

//He was part of that camp?// Jericho's face had been selling utter disbelief for a long while now. //Why didn't I recognize him all this time?// It was quite the shock to the older man that his famed steel-trap mind had failed him at such a critical juncture.

"Back then I honestly didn't think I had a future in wrestling even though I wanted one." Bourne's shy voice cut into Jericho's mindset bringing it back to the current situation. "I was small, weak, and I was often told that because I looked a lot like a girl I was not intimidating at all. Then you came along and taught us how to have a drive for success, and the dos and don'ts many of us overlooked. I wanted nothing else but to emulate you, but to me that was a dream within a dream." Everyone went dead silent. A tinge of hurt slithered across Evan's brown eyes. "I said that horrible thing to you out of a dare, but realistically it was the truth. I thought you'd get mad like the trainers would. Hit me like the other guys would. And shout at me like a parent would. And then you'd tell me to give up trying at all like everyone else did. Just go home to mom and keep dreaming. But you didn't do or say any of those things."

"What exactly did I say to you?" Chris strained the words cautiously out of his mouth.

The dash of hurt instantly vanished being replaced by sparkling glee instead. "You told me I was right. To get to the top I needed to do two things. One was to fuck and be fucked. The other was to keep thinking positive and good things would happen." Jericho's jaw unhinged instantaneously. A bright smile exploded onto Evan's face. "You said if I did those two things I'd be at the top in no time. And that you'd be there waiting to congratulate me."

"Wow. You said all of that Jericho?" Adam's dry tone cut in. Sarcasm heavily laid on his words. "I just told those runts to replicate me, because that was their only hope."

"That's just like you Jericho to say something so deceptively nice." Randy gave a dry laugh, "I told them not to even bother copying me, because you can't copy greatness."

Cena smirked slyly, scoffing loudly to garner attention. Chris didn't give it – much like he paid none to Edge or Orton. "I told them to have pride, be strong and don't ever take bullshit. And I meant it."

Copeland's mocking tone scored in. "And I shall be there waiting to congratulate you, and eventually fuck your brains out." He let out a scalding laugh. "Wow. That's poetic Jericho, and oh so smooth. I wonder how many people you said that-"

"All of you leave the table. Leave the building. Leave the state." Chris turned glaring daggers at them. His voice chomped on asphalt. "The longer you linger, the shorter your lifespan will be."

Adam drew in a deep, uncomfortable breath. "Well, that's our cue to leave boys."

"Thank you Captain Obvious." Adam frowned a bit as Randy smiled slightly. He turned, and gave Cody a playful pinch on the back of his neck. "Come on let's go."

"Always ruining our fun. That's good ol' Jericho for you." Cena gave a dimpled smile before standing to his feet.

Jack stood up with Cena. He gave Evan a quick wave before leaving. Cody ruffled Evan's mocha locks before exiting with Randy. Adam was the last to leave, opting to give Chris' shoulder a quick gentle pat before taking off. In just a few seconds the table was down to only two men.

Evan's smile dropped upon seeing the slight frown etched into Chris' forehead. "Um..." //Maybe he's mad at me for saying all that.// "I'm sorry about telling -"

Chris' hasty tone cut in. "You were shorter. Younger looking. Your hair was longer. Wasn't it?"

"Uh..." Evan paused to gather his thoughts. "No. I've always pretty much looked like this."

Chris chomped at his jaw – tightly clenching and unclenching in thought. "Then why didn't I recognize you when you visited me in that hospital? Why haven't I recognized you all this time?"

"It's okay Chris." Evan gave a nervous laugh. "It was long time ago. I'm sure anyone -"

"I'm not like your average anyone Evan." His cut-throat tone sliced into Evan's sentence with ease. "Did you recognize me?"

"Of course." Bourne beamed a smile. "I never forgot about you."

"I see." //You didn't but I did.// Jericho's baby blues raked the ground slightly to his left. //Is this a sign of old age?//

Noting the downed expression on his lover's face, Evan opted to cheer the man up. He leaned in closer to hm. "Chris," Jericho didn't respond. "You don't have to worry about it. It's not like I'm mad or anything. It's okay for people to forget things. I can forget things almost instantly if I'm not careful." His brown eyes curtained a bit. "So don't go thinking anything bad. The trait isn't exclusive to only mature people like you."

Chris shot his eyes up at Evan startling the younger man a bit. A devious smirk sat lopsidedly on his face. "You're right Evan. It's only natural, but it doesn't take away from the fact that I have to make up for lost time." The young brunette's face sold perplexity. "I didn't notice when I should have."

"Notice? Notice what?"

"That I always had you." Without giving a moment to thought process, Chris planted a light kiss on Evan's lips. The younger man blushed hard. "So now, as a token of my sincere apology, I'm going to take you back upstairs, put you back on that bed, and derive all those lost years from you." He idly traced Bourne's facial outline with a bent index finger. His gravelly voice lowered a bit to add to the intimacy of the mood. "I'm going to do what should have been done, could have been done, and would have been done had I noticed sooner." He smiled gently. "Are you ready?"

A small laugh escaped Evan without warning at the use of the DX catchphrase. "Yeah."

* * *

THE END


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